Pascale Marthine
Tayou

© Photo credit：Tony Metaxas

© Photo credit：Tony Metaxas

The Mikado is a game of skill, with two to six players. It uses wooden sticks with slimed down extremities. The sticks are bundled together and taken in one hand that touches the ground. Their release creates a circular jumble. One stick after another is taken up without moving or touching the others. It seems that a description of the Mikado game appears in Buddhist writings from the 5th century A.D. It is certainly an ancestral game whose simplicity allowed for extraordinary expansion in several civilizations, with many different variations. Apparently, Italians call the Mikado game "Shanghai". The Shanghai Tree – Mikado Tree is a monumental public installation composed of a trunk of a tree with a cloud of sticks on the top. The sticks are tangled up and give shape to an indeterminate architecture. The African artist is well known for his hybrids of Africa and the West, and how they affect either the economy, culture or the arts. He is creating a monumental sculpture based on a game, which was spread worldwide for centuries and played by generations of children all around the world. From this very universal symbol, he designed this massive tree that embodies the concept of nature at large, especially for World Expo.

Pascale Marthine Tayou

Born in 1967 in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
Lives and works in Ghent, Belgium.

Pascale Marthine Tayou is one of the most interesting artists originating from Africa. Through his installations, drawings, films and performances, Pascale Marthine Tayou articulates the nomadic existence of his life, from his birth in Cameroon to traveling throughout Europe and ceaseless journeying as an artist working internationally and moving from country to country.

Recent solo shows:
2010: Always All Ways. Omnes Viae Malmö Ducunt, Malmö Konsthall, Malmö, Sweden; Liaisons Courtes,  International Film Festival, Rotterdam, Nethederlands. 2009: Le Grand Cheval Belge 2009, Benedengalerie Culturcentrum, Kortrijk, Belgium. 2008: Matiti Elobi, Château de Blandy Les Tours, Blandy Les Tours, France; Kiosk, Louis pasteurlaan 2 +, Godshuizenlaan, Ghent, Belgium; Jungle Fever, Galleria Continua / San Gimignano, Italy; 2007: Plastik Diagnostik, Milton Keynes Gallery, Central Milton Keynes, UK; Plastic Bags, MK Dons Football Stadium, Central Milton Keynes, UK; Zigzag Zipzak!, Galleria Continua Beijing, Beijing, China.