Paul Maheke Ngamaha
| Paul Maheke Ngamaha | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1985 Brive-la-Gaillarde, France |
| 🏳️ Nationality | French |
| 🏫 Education | École Estienne; École nationale supérieure d’arts de Paris-Cergy (DNSEP 2011); Open School East, London (2015) |
| 💼 Occupation | |
| Known for | Installation art; performance; video; drawing; dance |
| 🌐 Website | https://paulmaheke.com |
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Paul Maheke Ngamaha (born 1985 in Brive-la-Gaillarde, France) is a French contemporary artist whose multidisciplinary practice spans installation, performance, video, drawing and choreography. His work explores embodiment, memory, disidentification, queer and diasporic narratives, frequently realised through collaborations with dancers, musicians and writers.
Early life and education
Paul Maheke studied graphic arts at École Estienne, Paris (DMA, 2007) and earned his DNSEP (Master in Art Practice) at the École nationale supérieure d’arts de Paris-Cergy (2011). He undertook further study at Open School East in London/Margate in 2015.[1] After residencies and work in Montréal, he relocated to London and is currently based in Montpellier, France, with international practice.
Artistic practice
Maheke’s work treats the body as archive, the site of layered histories and invisible narratives. Drawing on theories of disidentification and queer of colour critique, he employs performance, installation, video and drawing to render visible experiences of marginalisation, spectrality and resistance. He challenges dominance of representation and legibility in Western art discourse, proposing instead states of in-between, oblique knowledge, spiritual and embodied subjectivities.
His early public interventions in Montréal included minimal gestures—small shimmering objects left in public spaces—that evolved into large-scale immersive works exploring dance, voice and choreographed presence. These transitions mark a shift from subtle street gestures to institutional platforms while retaining a logic of social interruption.
Career highlights
Maheke’s exhibition and performance history is extensive, including numerous solo and institutional shows. Selected highlights include:
- 2016 – Solo exhibition ‘‘I Lost Track of the Swarm’’, South London Gallery, London (13 March – 22 May 2016).[2]
- 2017 – Solo show ‘‘A Fire Circle for a Public Hearing’’, Chisenhale Gallery, London (commission).[3]
- 2018 – performance “A Familiar Familial Place of Confusion (channel)”, Centre Pompidou, Paris.[4]
- 2019 – First solo exhibition in France at Triangle France, Marseille: ‘‘OOLOI’’.[5]
- 2021 – Solo presentation ‘‘Vanille Bleue’’, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg (15 April – 26 May 2021).[6]
- 2022-23 – Solo exhibition ‘‘You and I’’, Kunsthalle Bratislava (10 Nov 2022 – 31 Jan 2023).[7]
- 2024 – “In spite of my own desire to see you disappear”, Mercer Union, Toronto (28 Sept – 30 Nov 2024), first major institutional solo in North America.[8]
- 2025 – “Pleasing the Spirits”, Musée Barbier-Mueller, Geneva (2025).[9]
- 2025 – “Le langage des ombres (2017–2024)”, CAPC musée d’art contemporain de Bordeaux.
- 2025 – Participation in “Material Worlds: Contemporary Artists and Textiles”, Lakeside Arts Nottingham.[10]
Career recognition & awards
- Fellow at the Villa Medici – French Academy in Rome for the 2025-2026 academic year.[11]
- Recipient of the 25th Fondation Pernod Ricard Prize (2024).[12]
- Shortlisted for the Future Generation Art Prize (2021).[13]
- Graduate Residency, South London Gallery, 2015-16.
- Fluxus Fund Award (2016).
- French Ministry of Culture award (2014).
Collections
Maheke’s works are in public and institutional collections including the Tate Modern (London), Centre national des arts plastiques (CNAP, France), various FRAC collections (France), Arts Council Collection (UK) and the Neues Museum Nürnberg (Germany).
Bibliography / publications
Maheke has contributed essays and texts to art publications and catalogues. His writings and interviews reflect on the interplay of visibility, queerness, diaspora and embodiment. (Specific titles to be added.)
References
- ↑ "Paul Maheke – Artist CV". paulmaheke.com. 20 May 2013. Retrieved 2025. Check date values in:
|accessdate=(help) - ↑ "Paul Maheke: I Lost Track of the Swarm". South London Gallery. Retrieved 2025. Check date values in:
|accessdate=(help) - ↑ "Paul Maheke at Chisenhale Gallery". Gaia Art Foundation. Retrieved 2025. Check date values in:
|accessdate=(help) - ↑ "Paul Maheke – Centre Pompidou event". Centre Pompidou. Retrieved 2025. Check date values in:
|accessdate=(help) - ↑ "Paul Maheke at Triangle France – Asterides". ArtViewer. 30 August 2019. Retrieved 2025. Check date values in:
|accessdate=(help) - ↑ "Paul Maheke Vanille Bleue – Goodman Gallery Johannesburg". Goodman Gallery. Retrieved 2025. Check date values in:
|accessdate=(help) - ↑ "You and I – Kunsthalle Bratislava". Kunsthalle Bratislava. Retrieved 2025. Check date values in:
|accessdate=(help) - ↑ "Paul Maheke: In spite of my own desire to see you disappear" (PDF). Contemporary Art Library. Retrieved 2024. Check date values in:
|accessdate=(help) - ↑ "Pleasing the Spirits – Musée Barbier-Mueller". Musée Barbier-Mueller. 3 October 2025. Retrieved 2025. Check date values in:
|accessdate=(help) - ↑ "Meet the Artists: Paul Maheke, Yinka Shonibare and Zadie Xa". Lakeside Arts. 31 July 2025. Retrieved 2025. Check date values in:
|accessdate=(help) - ↑ "Résidents 2025-2026 – Villa Medici". Villa Medici. Retrieved 2025. Check date values in:
|accessdate=(help) - ↑ "25th Fondation Pernod Ricard Prize". Fondation Pernod Ricard. Retrieved 2024. Check date values in:
|accessdate=(help) - ↑ "Future Generation Art Prize 2021 – shortlist". Future Generation Art Prize. Retrieved 2025. Check date values in:
|accessdate=(help)
External links
- Official website
- Goodman Gallery artist page
- South London Gallery – I Lost Track of the Swarm
- Fondation Pernod Ricard – Prize information
Category:1985 births
Category:Living people
Category:French contemporary artists
Category:Performance artists
Category:Installation artists
Category:Video artists
Category:Artists from Brive-la-Gaillarde
Category:Queer artists
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