By the poolside of La Fourchette de Rōze hotel in Grand Bassam, a Côte d’Ivoire city sandwiched between the Ébrié lagoon and the Atlantic Ocean, a birthday party was in progress. On the second-floor gallery, the artist Nuits Balnéaires stood by a huge painting in one corner and looked out through the window towards the billowing waves of the Atlantic Ocean.
“It’s poetic … that immense energy of the ocean, which also fuels my work,” the Ivorian visual artist said. “The natural elements are the very essence and foundation of my artistic practice,” he added, as he reflected on the way in which his name, which translates as “coastal nights”, matched the ambience.
