Georges Adéagbo
Synchronizing
Archaeology- Designation of Events
| Biography of Georges Adéagbo | List of Exhibitions | Selected Bibliograpy |
| link to Benin | The Venice Biennale Installation | |
| artist's book on the Biennale Project | jointadventures coverpage |
 Georges working in his studio, Cotonou, Benin 1/20 |
 Georges talks about his work 2/20 |
 'Le spiritualism-le vaudoun' Cotonou, Benin, January 99, image 3/20 |
 Text describing archaeology 4/20 |
 'Cannibalism' Sao Paolo Biennial, October, 1998 5/20 |
 detail of 'Cannibalism' an inquiry about the slavetrade 6/20 |
 'The Story of the Lion' The 48th Venice Biennale, Campo dell' Arsenale, June 10th 7/20 |
 Georges' text for the 48th Venice Biennale installation June tenth, 8/20 |
Through
his unique installations, Georges Adéagbo is able to
investigate the mysteries underlying the
evolution and destiny of a person, a city or a country. This
often means tracing as many as several
hundred aspects, each represented by an object, to reveal
these forces that combine to form a culture.
Georges does not consider himself a painter or a sculptor.
Instead, he stands apart from the art scene,
simply trying to think about -- and find solutions --
inherent in our present world. As a neutral bridge
between races and by revealing universal aspects of cultures
he seeks to serve as a catalyst for mutual
understanding. Respecting and celebrating worldwide
diversity, Georges is constantly searching for
evidence of sources common to all to present in his
compositions. His hope is that all of us will be able
to sense stages of our evolution and gain an insight into our
destiny.
‘L’art est dans la nature! C’est
l’art qui fait l’artiste. Ce n’est pas
l’artiste qui fait l’art!’
Georges Adéagbo was born in 1942 in Benin,West Africa, the
eldest son of eleven children. He studied
law and business in France, but had to break off his studies,
and relinquish assured success and marriage,
when he was called back to Benin by his family in 1971 after
the death of his father. Derailed, he began
to regain balance in his life by creating
“installations” in his courtyard.(12) After working
alone for 23 years,
he was invited to his first exhibition in France. Since then,
he has participated in more than fifteen
exhibitions, including the Palais of the United Nations,
Geneva; The Serpentine Gallery, London; the
Round Tower, Copenhagen; and the Second Johannesburg the 24th
São Paolo and 48th Venice
Bienniales.
Georges expresses his insights through installations of:
-Commissioned paintings and carvings
-Books and articles supporting his hypothesis
-Original texts
-Found objects that intertwine his theories with the
conditions of his chosen location
-Sculptures and found objects from Africa to represent his
origins and perspectives
The combination of sources from Adéagbo’s home country
and the location of his installations
establishes a harmony between the artist and the subject of
his study.(5,6) By creating a dense symbolic
network of events, Georges Adéagbo illustrates the
universality of the laws of nature that govern life
everywhere, while at the same time revealing the diversity of
conditions that exist within a given
location. Common source for problems in the world is
man’s attempt, looking for personal advantages,
to change the initially perfect placement of every being, to
uproot things from their optimum
environment. “Fish are meant to live in water and you
can’t expect an apple to taste like a banana, yet
man tries to make many similar changes without being willing
to bear the consequences.” Georges
compositions show that each existence, represented by an
object, unfolds its full potential, when placed
in the context, which it was created for. The installations
also demonstrate, that ill-placement and
ill-timing of actions, can thwart and harm beings with a
strong potential and even lead to misfortunes.
 Georges works everyday, also when traveling. Hotelroom installation Hamburg, July 1999 9/20 |
 "15-quinze" numerological relationships 10/20 |
 horse-horse 11/20 |
 Georges' message was not understood for many years. 12/20 |
Interpreting
numerological relationships of historical and personal dates,
numbers on license plates, tickets, and textile labels,(13)
similarities of found and bought objects in form and color
and imagery (11), names and themes appearing in book titles,
(10) clothes and articles, Georges classifies phenomena and
creates cross links between various families of events: his
personal history, with episodes in politics, history in
general or the lives and activities of leaders, martyrs,
writers, characters from the art world, relatives and
friends, which are part of his universe. Georges’
encounter with certain objects and events mark incidents of
synchronicity which yield evidence that ‘my person of
Georges,’ as the artist calls himself in his texts,
moves on the beat of the rhythm of destiny composed by the
creator for his existence.
On the other hand, Georges commissions carvings and
paintings, realized by Cotonou craftsmen following his
precise instructions (see page 'link to Benin') to be used
together with found objects and original texts as reference
guides. This combination alludes to man’s blade-walk
between predestination and free choice, and reminds that one
has the chance to both recognize what is written in
one’s stars and assume responsibility for maneuvering
through life.(see page 'Venice Biennale installation', image
14) Once willing to look at oneself, one can avoid
distractions, which cause deviation from the optimum path
resulting in the fulfillment of a given potential.
‘Les quelles qui se semblent, se rassemblent..!’
George’s’ thoroughly classified archive of events,
knowledge of history and repertoire of instructive
legends and mythologies, resembles in some aspects the
reference collection of Nigerian Yoruba priests
who practice divination through the Ifa, the casting of eight
kola nut halves, whose permutation of
positions correlates precisely to a certain story among
hundreds to choose from. Similar to procedures
of the I Ching, the energy state of the person seeking
advice, coincides with the divinatory pattern and
therefore he or she will hear the tale from the priest which
will help most among all to answer the
question to solve.
The objects Georges finds, the when and where, position,
condition, vicinity to what, allow him to
analyze and describe the condition of a situation with the
most suitable set of instructive accounts
embedded in the vehicles which came to him. Those serve both
him and the viewers to see where they
are at and also recognize, which choice might bear most fruit
in the future. To sum it up, the timing of
the find and nature of an object can be seen analogue to the
position of thrown divination tools, only
that the hands which put them onto Georges’ path are
invisible, and the size of the divination board
beyond man’s measurement.
By faithfully reading the hints given to him and researching
the grammar for their lecture, Georges
Adéagbo can sharpen through his installations the
viewers’ sensibility to recognize and pick up the signs
which are meant for each of them. He encourages and urges
people to invest time and patience in
developing the reading capacity of their individual messages.
His work inspires to examin, whether the
goals and visions one hosts are truly original and authentic,
or if they were implanted by education,
advertising or other means of manipulation.
‘Il me faut une tête et c’est ma tête qu’il
me faut’ (19)
While many artists produce works which are sent from venue to
venue, Georges creates site-specific
installations only, which refer to the history, spirituality,
nature and way of living of a personality or a
place. Once a theme is given by a host, Georges spends months
of research in his archive and plots
what could be called a vector map of the constellation of
forces which led to the present conditions of a
situation. He requires to spend enough time beforehand the
opening on location, to compare his
theoretic research with the direct experience of the
circumstances. Then he complements the set of texts
and objects brought from Benin with pieces from that
particular environment. Georges picks up things,
lost or thrown away, during walks, scans book shops and flea
markets in the town of the exhibition
venue, to acquire what he needs to finalize his composition.
The collection made and texts written during these nomadic
stays become evidence of Georges’
presence and customize the work , allowing it to root, link
and harmonize with the spirit of a new
milieu. Never imposing, the final work is a carefully
balanced chemistry which offers a multitude of
stimuli for thoughts, links for associations and unveils
clusters of unverified assumptions. If an
institution or collector decides to keep the installation
dedicated to them, a precise plan to facilitate
authentic reinstallation on the same premises is compiled and
left with the work as artist’s certificate.
At his home in Benin,(1-3,13-15) when not preparing an
installation for a host venue, Georges studies the
lives of missionaries and martyrs, who had to suffer
immensely while fulfilling their task to instruct mankind,
often killed by fanatics who opposed their transforming
influence.
 'The mission of Gandhi and his sudden death is a re- occuring theme in Georges' work.13/20 |
 Abraham Lincoln, who abolished slavery, was assisinated in a theater. Georges investigates the relationship between martyr. 14/20 |
 'Georges has his own thoughts on why Hiroshima was chosen target for the Atomic Bomb,August 6th, 1945, 15/20 |
 Discussion with Roman Opalka about the meaning of stepping into the next millenium 16/20 |
With documents, books, memorabilia, objects carrying
allusions, commissioned paintings and original
texts referring to Abraham Lincoln, Behanzin (the last king
of Dahomey, before the French colonialists
took over in 1894), Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King,
Malcolm X, Patrice Lumumba, John F.
Kennedy and other channels of innovative thought Georges
vividly describes his theory of death and
resurrection of kindred spirits. Also the analysis of
phenomena of pure power, such as Napoleon, Hitler(17),
Phillipe Petain, Charles de Gaulles and Jacques Chirac,
events as the bombing of Hiroshima (15)occupy his
mind. Episodes from the old and new testament often
represented by African sculptures and
constellations of found objects, elicit thought about the
choice between the benefits of doing good or
consequences of doing evil.
Georges stipulates that art works should be a mirror which
helps viewers to gain clarity about their own
lives(18), simply by confronting the frank language of an
artist talking about his experience and sharing self
critical observations which demand for the determination of
priorities. The installations Georges creates
for the venues constitute an oracle and talisman to give
guidance and protection for navigating through
life. Georges, neutral bridge between races, wishes to create
mutual understanding between those who
consider themselves to be different and to remind those
jealous of others’ success, that they have their
own destiny to fulfill. His installation works can be used
for orientation, analogue to a map and
compass, a mental space to meditate about where one came
from, ones current position and last but not
least, whether one is on the path to recognize and fulfill
what one is born to do.
“Creez pour vous liberer..!” 20
 Georges investigates the phenomena of Hitler and his followers with persistence. 17/20 |
 'Identity' a question can be raised by picking up a sweatshirt on the road. 18/20 |
 'You can only use your head' 19/20 |
 'Create in order to liberate yourself' 20/20 |
"The tree of comprehension
All events are connected-groups of phenomena-
permutation of elements-nothing is accidental-
nothing is replaceable-suffering he burnt his pride
-Georges Adéagbo has one of the keys
to unveil the master-plan"
Stephan Köhler
Please consider contacting the authors before using any of the images or text passages.