MEET THE ARTIST

For Elon-M Tossou, art is inherently linked to spirituality.

As a native of Oumako, Elon’s ancestry is rooted in Hulagan, otherwise known as Grand Popo, Benin’s high place of traditional religious practices. 

His beloved Grand Mother was one of the preeminent Vaudou Priestess of the Mono region, in southwest part of Benin. Elon cherishes his childhood punctuated with countless moments spent with his dearest 'Nana', a larger than life figure, celebrated for her savant knowledge of Nature’s deepest secrets, and for her expertise in alternative medicine and herbal remedies that help nurture and maintain good health, balance, order, peace and prosperity throughout her community. 

Initiated in the tenets of theology, cosmogony and the sacred rites, the young
Elon is granted a rare opportunity to study the complex hierarchy of Vaudou deities which, according to Fon and Yorùbá mythologies, are governing the forces of nature, the spirits of each individual water stream, each tree, each rock and in essence of every being upon this earth.  

Already a consummate sketcher, Elon understands the importance of art as a gateway to spirituality. This realisation, manifested at a young age, will determine his holistic creative vocation. 

With the Oracle’s blessings, the “Whiz Kid” is sent at the tender age of 17, to perfect his craft in the historical city of Ouidah. There, under the mentorship of Pascal Avokpo, one of Benin's seminal artist, Tossou embarks on a 4 years trans-disciplinary Masterclass investigating the fundamental building blocks of modern art, such as form, scale, colour, composition, texture, landscape and human anatomy.

Following this formative period, the voracious inquirer, joins a series of workshops and artistic residencies in Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal and China. From this point on, Elon Toss vows to investigate his cultural inheritance, yet daring to confront traditional archetypes with notions of cultural hybridity, intellectual cross-pollination and applied sciences. The prevailing role women play in West African society remains to this day, a central subject matter pervading his body of work.

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Tossou conjures a visual narrative that transcends pure religious iconography. His creative practice serves as a captivating anthropological analysis of West Africa’s ancestral rites and rich historical traditions.

Infused with wisdom and whimsy, the blissfully poetic yet mysterious compositions by Elon-M Tossou address issues on race, gender, identity, culture, tradition, human existence, death, and the afterlife. In his work, the artist invites the viewer on a cosmic journey reconnecting man and nature, in a cathartic exploration of contemporary Panafricanism.

Winner of Conasco in 2009 and the 2010 Golden Award, Elon-M Tossou represented Benin in 2019 at the Segou ’Art Festival, in Mali. Works by Elon M Tossou have been permanently incorporated in prestigious Musée National, in Benin, Fondation Montresso, n Marrakesh as well as various esteemed private collections in France, Belgium, The UK, The Netherlands and across the African continent. 

The incredibly prolific wunderkind is part of this new generation of visual artists contributing to establish Benin as an epicentre of West African creation.