Kuamen :
Creep to the mic like a phantom

About the exhibition

Titled after lyrics from Dr Dre’s 1992 track Nuthin' but a ‘G’ Thang, featuring Snoop Dogg, the exhibition takes its cue from what the artist describes as “a revelation” when he was first exposed to hip hop in London as a 10-year-old. When Snoop Dogg says, “Dre creep to the mic like a phantom”, these lyrics are more than just an introduction. They are a gesture of transmission, of passing the mic, quietly but with intention – a sacred moment of trust, respect, and legacy. For Kuamen, that sonic revelation has been a lifelong connection to the music and its message of resilience, rebellion, and representation. Something to which he could relate as a youth from Paris suburbs.

In hip hop language, the artist says, “creeping to the mic” can suggest a smooth but confident approach: like sliding in, unnoticed but with full control; while “phantom” conveys a quiet and mysterious ghostly presence, unseen but sensed. Likewise, this introduction to the London art scene acts as a symbolic return. It is a smooth but commending moment.

The exhibition brings together painting, sculpture, video, text, and sound. The works include Hood Boy (2022), a stone sculpture representing a figure with a hi-top hairstyle. It is a celebration of Black and Brown men raised in council estates, often misrepresented and feared, but full of spirit and pride. Accompanying this sculpture is Hood Boy Act II (2022), a compelling portrait painted after the sculpture, set against a deep black background. The figure bears familiar traits found in hip hop iconography, hi-top and grillz — symbols of power, beauty, and defiance.

The series of untitled poems (2023) and accompanying soundtrack Los Angeles (2024) were created during a residency at Vacant Projects, Los Angeles. The poems were written while riding the metro, walking downtown, or listening to people living in the city’s margins. The artist mixed the languages he speaks (French, English, Creole, Lingala) to create a new form of dialogue. The soundtrack, co-produced with Canadian-based DJ Draft, features rap lyrics in French, English, Creole, Lingala and Spanish.

Two portraits from the artist’s new series Amara (2024) and Grandma Mabourou (2025), are inspired by 15th-16th century portraiture. They are influenced by the dramatic intensity of Caravaggio’s painting, but also resonate with the genre of Black portraiture developed by Barkley Hendricks. These paintings elevate contemporary Black individuals to a symbolic and dignifying status.

Finally, on the lower ground, the video performance and plaster sculpture Bangangoulou Kainfreestyle (2024) address the artist’s connection to his Bantu heritage through movement, music, image, and ritual. The installation evokes the notion of transmission and how the culture one carries can be remixed and given a new form.

We will be announcing the public events of In Conversation between the artist and Christine Eyene, the curator of the exhibition, and the performance shortly.

About the artist

Kuamen (born in London, 1981; lives and works in Aulnay-sous-Bois, France)

Kuamen is a poet, rapper, and self-taught multidisciplinary artist whose practice includes drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, video, installation, and performance. Born to a Congolese father and a Mauritian mother, he has lived in Aulnay-sous-Bois, a suburb of Paris, for over 25 years. He grew up in an estate that is home to a large community of African residents and is deeply stigmatised by urban violence and unemployment.

The artist's origins and place of residence have forced him to confront social phenomena such as racism, poverty, segregation, and overconsumption from a very early age. Inspired by American hip-hop culture, which he saw as a reflection of his own experience, he began writing poetry through politically engaged music. After obtaining an MBA in international marketing and working for several years in that field, he decided to devote himself entirely to his artistic career.

As a rapper he has collaborated with French Senegalese rapper Sefyu. They collaborated on the cult underground rap hit La Vie Qui Va Avec (2006) and Attitude (2008). His conceptual album cultureafropéenne#(2022) explores the complex identity of the African diaspora in a western context, blending hip hop, poetry, and visual art.

As a visual artist, Kuamen has mostly exhibited between France and Los Angeles. His stone sculpture Ex-Poto(2023), created as part of Fonds de dotation Verrecchia’s bursary (Bourse Matière 2022) was inaugurated this summer in Bondy (France). Other collaborations includeI Have Also Seen (2025), a performance presented in the exhibition What the Mountain Has Seen curated by Christine Eyene at the ERL Gallery (Liverpool) and Drawing Together 201 Exquisite Corpses curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist at Museum im Bellpark, Kriens, Switzerland (2022).

Kuamen’s practice and concern for the accessibility of art for all also manifests through workshops with local communities, young people, and special needs participants with whom he develops social sculptures.