Frédéric Bruly Bouabré

This beautifully produced publication accompanied Frédéric Bruly Bouabré’s exhibition at Ikon in August 2007. Bouabré’s practice is encyclopedic, aspiring to the depiction of everything as a means of apprehending and communicating the way the world works.

This publication features La Haute Diplomatie (High Diplomacy), a new series of work which comprises 193 colourful drawings that portray individuals who personify all of the countries of the world, each wearing clothes that incorporate the colours and shapes of their national flags. The individual figures have a distinct demeanour, but they all extend their right hand, in a diplomatic gesture of friendship. This catalogue presents all 193 drawings, one per page, reproduced in full colour, as well as a foreword by Ikon Director Jonathan Watkins and texts by André Magnin, Yaya Savané and Ettore Sottsass.