Ndayé Kouagou's 'Heaven's Truth' at Collezione Maramotti Explores Language and Ambiguity

Ndayé Kouagou (b. 1992) presents 'Heaven's Truth' at Collezione Maramotti in Reggio Emilia, running until July 26, 2026. The exhibition features a performance titled 'Please don't be' with poet and actress Salber Lee Williams, where AI-generated dialogues and surreal atmospheres question the meaning of phrases like 'Please be yourself.' The show is structured as a playful, puzzle-like journey centered on a dog character named Pochi, who appears in a three-act video and as a cutout figure. Works include the video installation 'Here & Elsewhere' (2024), featuring a guru-like figure offering paradoxical advice, and 'A coin is a coin' (2022), a monologue on power and choice. The exhibition's second iteration will open at Heidelberger Kunstverein on September 3, 2026, co-producing new works, some of which will be shown at the 18th Lyon Biennale (September 19 – December 13, 2026).