Chrisany (Cameroon)
Francis Taptue "Chrisany" was born in Douala (Cameroon) in 1978. He lives in France where has granted a diploma in Plastic Arts at the Sorbona university. He has worked in Cameroon for several magazines and NGOs. Chrisany has also drawn the illustrations of a text-book for Hachette International to be presented in French speaking parts of Africa. His comic entitled Article 5 et 9 de la Déclaration universelle des Droits de l'Homme has won the Africa e Mediterraneo Prize 2002. This comic has been published in 2003 in an album dispensed in Europe and Africa thanks to a collaboration between the Italian journal Africa e Mediterraneo and the Ivorian newspaper Gbich!
His comic strip : Homework
In a school of an anonymous suburb, the professor Martin Fierro addresses in his classes issues such as immigration, the notions of double belonging and dialogue between cultures. Fierro encourages his pupils to look at contemporary multicultural European society from new perspectives and in particular by putting under the spotlight the principle of non-discrimination.
Crucially, his pupils have different religious believes (some are Hebrew, some Hindu and some Muslim) and are therefore encouraged to work together. Their task is to conduct a research on the ways in which different religions (i.e. Hinduism, Christianity and Islam) perceive beauty. This exercise often leads to challenging arguments in the class. The students' confrontational and direct manners do not only emerge at school, but also surface in their relationship with their parents, whose perceptions of the world and role of education are often very rigid and conservative.
Chrisany's black-and-white and stylised drawings, and the rhythm created by the alternation of intense dialogues with eloquent silences make these adolescents' everyday life particularly deep and meaningful. Thanks to courage of their teacher, these students are fortunate to experience something that will change their way of looking at the world, and living together in it.
Technical information
Work features: Dramatic
Pages: 28
Black and white