Recensés oubliés
Text: Yves Xavier Ndounda Ndongo
Art Direction: Francine Abada
Published on September 13, 2024
The exhibition Recensés oubliés by Yvon Ngassam, presented at OTHNI, explores the perception of migrants through an artistic approach rooted in humanization and resilience. Using photography, sound, and printmaking, the artist gives voice and face to those whom society tends to render invisible. His project highlights the shared dreams that connect migrants with host populations, emphasizing common aspirations for a better life, meaningful education, and a future built together. In a world where narratives of exclusion have become commonplace, Yvon offers a poetics of memory and hope.

Exhibition Recensés oubliés by Yvon Ngassam at OTHNI. From March 11 to June 10, 2023. Yaoundé, 2023. © Photo by Yvon Ngassam

Exhibition Recensés oubliés by Yvon Ngassam at OTHNI. From March 11 to June 10, 2023. Yaoundé, 2023. © Photo by Yvon Ngassam

Exhibition Recensés oubliés by Yvon Ngassam at OTHNI. From March 11 to June 10, 2023. Yaoundé, 2023. © Photo by Yvon Ngassam

Exhibition Recensés oubliés by Yvon Ngassam at OTHNI. From March 11 to June 10, 2023. Yaoundé, 2023. © Photo by Yvon Ngassam

Exhibition Recensés oubliés by Yvon Ngassam at OTHNI. From March 11 to June 10, 2023. Yaoundé, 2023. © Photo by Yvon Ngassam

Artopia’s scenographic work was instrumental to the success of this exhibition. In close collaboration with the artist and the OTHNI team, Artopia created a fluid and immersive spatial arrangement that highlights the richness of the works without confining them to a rigid museum format. Each medium was placed with precision: the photographic portraits subtly converse with the sound installations and resin sculptures, shaping a space for movement that is both intimate and collective. The public is thus guided through a sensory and reflective journey, where each work serves as a meeting point with the Other.
Thanks to this scenography conceived as a narrative experience, Recensés oubliés becomes a space for dialogue between memory, imagination, and social commitment. Artopia did not simply display artworks: it helped give them voice, breath, and collective resonance. Through this meticulous work, the exhibition becomes a living space, where individual stories find meaning in a shared narrative, and where art becomes a powerful tool for reconciliation, listening, and transformation.

Exhibition Recensés oubliés by Yvon Ngassam at OTHNI. From March 11 to June 10, 2023. Yaoundé, 2023. © Photo by Yvon Ngassam

Exhibition Recensés oubliés by Yvon Ngassam at OTHNI. From March 11 to June 10, 2023. Yaoundé, 2023. © Photo by Yvon Ngassam

Exhibition Recensés oubliés by Yvon Ngassam at OTHNI. From March 11 to June 10, 2023. Yaoundé, 2023. © Photo by Yvon Ngassam

Exhibition Recensés oubliés by Yvon Ngassam at OTHNI. From March 11 to June 10, 2023. Yaoundé, 2023. © Photo by Yvon Ngassam

Exhibition Recensés oubliés by Yvon Ngassam at OTHNI. From March 11 to June 10, 2023. Yaoundé, 2023. © Photo by Yvon Ngassam