Untitled KEVIN-ADEMOLA SANGOSANYA

“We are a tap that enables matter to become aware of itself”

An arrangement of atoms, molecules and then cells, we are living organisms, having become thinking matter that has incarnated into the world by becoming aware of itself, then of others and the world around us. “You have to know how to give in order to receive”, says the artist. Kévin-Ademola Sangosanya offers us visual and thought-provoking support in science, art and spirituality, so that we too can find the inspiration and strength to face our own fears.

ARTIST

Of French and Yoruba origin, Kévin-Ademola Sangosanya was born in Longjumeau (91) in 1996. Even if the environment in which he grew up didn't destine him to become an artist, his mother being a scientist from a working-class background and his father, a Nigerian immigrant and former soldier, he felt a vital need to draw all day long from an early age. His mother encouraged him to take drawing lessons after secondary school, but, as he mainly painted monsters and dinosaurs, he was quickly steered towards a career in science. At 15, he wanted to be a paleontologist and then a geneticist specializing in endangered species. His love for Nigeria, where he had travelled frequently since early childhood to visit his grandparents, led him to focus on endangered gorillas. Thinking that the best way to protect them would be to allow them to live in an environment where they would not be hunted, he decided after his baccalaureate to focus on sustainable development and began studying agronomy engineering.

At 17, he discovered independence and student life. He left the family nest to move closer to Paris, settling in residence in Cergy. He completed a number of internships abroad as part of his studies, including his graduation internship where he spent 8 months in Nigeria, working on the conservation of forest species, reforestation, and the study of medicinal, food and sacred plants, linking the three areas that fascinate him: cultural preservation, the sustenance of populations and spirituality.