Friday, January 27, 2023

Cameroon: La Nouvelle Liberte










La Nouvelle Liberte is a piece of artwork in the city of Douala. Joseph-Francois Sumegne created it in 1996. Sumegne is a native of Cameroon and created the La Nouvelle Liberte, a 12-meter-tall sculpture entirely made of scrap metal. It is located in the middle of one of the busiest roundabouts in the city of Douala. The artwork is supposed to represent the culture of contemporary art but the has been nicknamed Njo Njo of Deido which means the evil or the monster of Deido because of the local protests by local media stations and native people towards the sculpture. These protests led to attacks and vandalism against the sculpture because the artist that created the sculpture was from the western part of Cameroon. In 2007 the sculpture was donated to the  Municipality of Douala. The latter funded a pedestal for the sculpture where which the sculpture stands today.

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