Dominique Zinkpè

Provenance

LouiSimone Gallery Guirandou, Côte d'Ivore.

The Georgina Jaffee Hair Matters Collection.

Exhibited

LouiSimone Gallery Guirandou, Côte d'Ivore, Etats d'âme, 24 February to 24 April 2021.

1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, London, LouiSimone Gallery Guirandou Booth, 14 to 17 October 2021.

Notes

Dominique Zinkpè’s sculptural work encapsulates the artist’s multidisciplinary approach which is informed by the historical and cultural traditions of his native Benin.

He is best known for his large assemblages, which comprise of hundreds of individually carved wooden figurines, known as Hôhô in Fon or Ìbejì in Yoruba.¹ The creation of these dolls is ritualistic in nature, originating from the traditional Yoruba belief that twins, often referred to as ‘ejire’ meaning ‘double rhyme’ or ‘two persons that are the same’, share the same soul and are special beings whose birth brings great blessings. Twins are frequently given special family and community privileges.

Nigeria and Benin have the highest rates of twin births globally; however, infants born in multiples experience a heightened risk of mortality. When one twin dies, a single Ìbejì figure is commissioned, and when both die, two figures are created. These effigies are ritually washed, dressed, and offered gifts as a means of commemorating and venerating the deceased.²

Zinkpè’s engagement with these figurines arises from an interest in their individuality and the way their aggregation transforms singular identities into a collective entity through repetition and accumulation. In the present lot, he collaborates with master carvers from various regions of Benin to produce each statuette. While each retains its distinct character, the artist methodically arranges them, row by row, until they coalesce into a monumental female form that embodies ideas of community, ancestry and layered identity.

This interrelationship extends to the broader thematic concerns of the Hair Matters Collection. The clusters of figurines not only constitute the hair of the composite figure but also evoke the rhythmic and tactile qualities of hair itself. By constructing the hair of the present lot through the accumulation of these miniature bodies, Zinkpè transforms the act of sculptural assembly into an analogue for the styling and care of hair, a practice that is often grounded in community and intergenerational exchange. The repetition of forms suggests rhythm, labour and intimacy, qualities that resonate with the social spaces in which hair is groomed and maintained. In this way, the present lot extends beyond commemoration to engage with broader discourses on identity, embodiment and the interconnectedness of individual and collective histories.

^1. Robert Conduru (2011) Buala, "Terceira Metade": Conjugating (Subverting?) the Global from Benin: Hazoumé, Zinkpé, Quenum, online, accessed 12 November 2025.

^2. Unknown author (no date) Art Institute Chicago, Twin Figures (Ere Ibeji), online, accessed 12 November 2025.

Literature

Artsy Editors (2021) Artsy, Curated Highlights: Amadou Diaw's Selection from 1-54 London, online, accessed 22 January 2026.