Biography
Ndayé Kouagou (b. Montreuil, France 1992) is a self-taught artist and performer based in Le Perreux-sur-Marne, Paris. He began his career in fashion, and clothing remains important within his performances. His performances are comprised of monologues, discussion with himself. Young Black Romantics is the pseudonym he uses on social networks. Emblematic of the artists of his generation, Kouagou does not establish a hierarchy between his different practices, which revolve around writing and language. He has presented his work at Auto Italia South East (London), Wiels (Brussels), Centrale Fies (Dro/Italy), Centre Pompidou and Lafayette Anticipations (Paris), where he also launched his YBR (Young Black Romantics) publishing project. In April 2023, he presented his project The Guru at the Fondation Louis Vuitton (Paris) and had an exhibition at Sundy in London. He is represented by Nir Altman (Munich).
Kouagou's practice always starts from texts he has written and develops through performance and textiles. He describes his work as 'Volutarily or involuntarily confused' as 'he tries as best he can to bring a reflection on these three topics: unease, power and vulnerability. The result is... what it is.' He decribes his work as 'quite interesting, but not that interesting - or maybe not interesting at all.' His work mocks the idea of people looking passively at art and not actively engaging, often breaching the fourth wall, and asking the audience direct rhetorical questions. In doing so, he also questions the idea that art can engender real thought or change. kouagou asks a multitude of existential questions while offering few answers. For example, at the end of 2020, during his residency at Triangle - Astérides, he developed Good People TV, for Parallèle Festival. He asked audience members and answered questions about what it takes to become a good person.