Carleton’s Hamlin Creative Space, buried deep in the Weitz Center’s basement—and, for these past two weeks, in ice and snow—was recently brought to life with the spirit and warmth of an artist with a clear, energizing vision. Max Lyonga, an acclaimed contemporary Cameroonian artist recently spent two weeks at Carleton holding public talks, painting more works to be added to his “Art Without Boundaries” collection, and meeting with students as an artist-in-residence at the Center for Community and Civic Engagement (CCCE).
One of Lyonga’s talks, “Life in the Midst of Conflict” touched more directly on his experiences during and following the anglophone crisis in Cameroon. Though the Anglophone and Francophone regions of Cameroon have a history of political and cultural conflict, this tension was augmented when a segment of Anglophone independence activists erupted into more violent militias. These extremist actors, fighting for what they call the Ambazonia state, have deeply altered life in Cameroon. Lyonga has not only seen this violence occur but he and his family have also been personally affected by the fraught political climate. For this reason and for Lyonga’s privacy, I sat down with the artist not to discuss his political views, but his art.
Lyonga made what I thought might be a challenging conversation easy, eagerly walking me through his installation in the Hamlin Creative Space and opening up about what compels him to create. In fact, when I asked Lyonga about the political weight his art carries and whether he creates these meanings intentionally, he was very clear in his statement: “I am an artist and not a politician.” Though he helped me to understand that he doesn’t intentionally paint the political sphere around him or the changing course of his country, he remarked “when you paint, you paint what you feel. People can interpret the paintings the way they want. I worked on a painting called ‘Dialogue’ that is hanging inside, but to me as a painter, I just painted the work to appreciate the colors.” I did ask Lyonga whether the conflict in Cameroon has changed his art, whether the increase in violence around him and his family’s forced migration from his hometown Buea to the city of Douala has affected the way he expresses himself on the canvas. For even Carleton’s publicity materials labeled Lyonga’s exhibit as “a journey in two mental states of inspiration” before and after conflict and between the vast disparity between the Cameroonian cities of Buea and Douala. He admitted that such a crisis has affected him greatly, but that he has not seen any drastic change in the art he has produced in the past and produces now. “Perhaps there is a difference in my art in that I talk more about the crisis in Cameroon and try to spread the word. I create more art now and work harder on the themes of truth and dialogue, building together, forgiving, and freedom. But maybe that description is just the way others have seen what I have done. I am still remaining the Max that people know, true to this world, true to his colors.”
These colors, which Lyonga utilizes to explore themes including youth, education, the environment, globality, and his Christian faith, have allowed him to explore his own interests in art and expression (especially as a self-taught painter), but also to give back to his community. In all he does, Lyonga describes his painting as a force for positivity and encouragement for future generations, as he believes that “when you create something beautiful, people will dance.” Regarding his paintings that include bits of palimpsestic written phrases, Lyonga says “the writing on the painting is like speaking in tongues. You don’t know what it means now but maybe people will know what you are talking about in the future.” His signatures on each of his canvases, too, reflects this sentiment, as he usually signs his name and then a date such as “08/11/2018 – 2099” or “02/05/2019 – 3050.” He explained these dates to me saying that, rather than existing for just a single moment in time, he hopes his paintings are able to continue to inspire their viewers and expand in meaning for centuries to come. Discussing his technique, which he has called the “Max Lyonga style,” Lyonga stated that his colors and messages not only allow him a voice or give voice to their viewers, but speak back to his community and bring representation to his home with the family name Lyonga.
Further, Lyonga continues to work for his community through his foundation “House of Hope.” I’d heard a bit about his foundation after attending some of his prior talks at Carleton, but I didn’t understand his vision until asking Lyonga again. “There are no legal documents, no administrative papers for the House of Hope,” he replied. “The House of Hope is the idea that my home is open to my community for art, for a meal, for education, and then the people that come to my home can leave and benefit the people they interact with.” Carleton College and Dickinson College, in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, have engaged with the House of Hope through off-campus studies trips visiting Lyonga’s home in Buea, Cameroon, and learning about his galleries and culture. Though these programs, including the Dickinson program which dates back over twenty-five years, have sadly been postponed due to current conflict in the state, Lyonga makes it clear that the House of Hope continues to work across the globe. “When I am done at Carleton, I will ask Carleton to give some of my payment to the Foundation and to the children in my community. Because of that, and because of our conversations, my foundation is you, me, Carleton. We are all walking for the good of the House of Hope.”
Thank you to Max Lyonga, for taking the time to speak with me, and to Carleton’s Center for Global Regional Studies, the Center for Community and Civic Engagement (CCCE), the Dean of the College office, Arts at Carleton, and Dickinson College for sponsoring Max Lyonga’s stay in Northfield, MN and exhibit at the Weitz Center for Creativity.