Focus: artist Rakajoo adds colour to the walls of IAE Gustave Eiffel

During the lockdown and the period when the students had to abandon the campus, Hall B of Bois de l'Etang in Marne-la-Vallée was given a new look. Artist Rakajoo spent a fortnight on the site in early December, during which he decorated the walls with two unique frescoes. “The IAE Gustave Eiffel team, the delegates and our team had been thinking for some time about improving the hall and the atmosphere of the building. I had an idea for a fresco and I suggested it to my manager, Christel De Lassus. I thought of Rakajoo because I know him through boxing, a sport we have in common,” explains Barbara Georgiadou, Head of Communications and International Relations.

Université Gustave Eiffel now hosts the work of up-an-coming artist Rakajoo (“stubborn” in Wolof), whose real name is Baye-Dam Cissé and who was included in the exhibition “Jusqu’ici tout va bien” by the Kourtrajmé school at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris last summer. The Senegalese artist and former top-level boxer is an autodidact who has made his own way with a little help from fate. On the occasion of the completion of the work, we asked him a few questions.

How did you feel about the invitation to create this mural? Did you accept straight away?

I’m not a "street artist" but more of a figurative painter in the classical sense of the term. It was tricky because, with my background in boxing, I prefer smaller formats, or at least "transportable” ones. I had also said I wouldn’t do any more murals! I had already done a large one for my boxing club in 2008, funded by the Lagardère foundation which was a partner and supported the athletes. In spite of all that, the proposition was a welcome one and I agreed, although I had to find a time in my schedule. This time it really is my last mural!

Mural painted by Rakajoo on the Bois-de-l'Etang building

As a self-taught artist, what are your sources of inspiration in general?

I have drawn since I was very young, but I never went to art school because it's expensive. I was interested in the art world but I didn’t know how to go about entering it. In 2008, I met Arnaud Lagardère who came to the inauguration of the club's mural. He gave me the chance to have my first exhibition (editor's note: on the theme of sport in Paris, at the Théâtre du Châtelet). He got me this first exhibition and also offered me the opportunity of either going to art school or to an animation studio. I chose the latter.

I like different techniques: painting, cartoons and animation, which I learned along the way. My inspiration comes from Lucian Freud, Kerry James Marshall, Jenny Saville and Jacob Lawrence, artists I particularly appreciate.

What did you want to convey through the drawings of these new murals?

In the first fresco, you can see cogs. This is the idea of learning, that you control the workings of the future thanks to knowledge. In the second one, in parallel, you see the confrontation between the old world and the new. At university, the student leaves their old life behind and looks to the future. I wanted to express this idea of moving on with strong symbolism marking a transition to something new. There is also a sense of looking to the future for myself because I am moving on to new artistic adventures in 2021.

Did you have to adapt to the university environment in any way?

When you work in this kind of place, it’s to fulfil an order. We discussed the project and I proposed several drawings to choose from. I had quite a lot of freedom. For the colours, I had to use those of the Université Gustave Eiffel and the IAE Gustave Eiffel. It suited me fine having fewer colours!

What are your plans for 2021?

I have exhibitions planned at the Société Générale foundation, another one in a gallery and I am currently working on an animated series.