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Soldiers by Paul Ahyi Burned, scorched, and colored plywood Image courtesy of the artist

Captivity by Paul Ahyi Burned, scorched, and colored plywood Image courtesy of the artist

Baby by Paul Ahyi Burned, scorched, and colored plywood Image courtesy of the artist

Cat by Paul Ahyi Burned, scorched, and colored plywood Image courtesy of the artist

Jesus by Paul Ahyi Burned, scorched, and colored plywood Image courtesy of the artist

Le Veilleur (The Mourner) by Paul Ahyi Burned, scorched, and colored plywood Image courtesy of the artist Note that on the Paul Ahyi official web site, there is a different interpretation given of this work and its meaning. The E-Museum would like to hear from anyone who can clarify this work's meaning.

Multimedia artist Paul Ahyi (1930–2010) from Lomé, Togo, although internationally known for his sculpture, including monuments in his native city, also developed his own pyrographic technique, which he called "zota" the literal translation of pyrography (i.e., fire drawing) in the Ghen language of his country. The link here is to the "zota" web page on his official web site. You will want to explore this entire site to get an idea of the breadth and depth of this artist's works over the decades.

In 2007, Paul Ahyi had two exhibitions in France, where his work has been well known for many years. He has also exhibited at the Metropolitan Art Museum in New York City.

The two 2007 exhibitions were most significant in that they contained works in sculpture, etching, and pyrography (zota). The official 2007 Paul Ahyi Catalogue is a wonderful tribute to the artist, showing the large variety of his remarkable works exhibited that year, of which many were burnt works. The last two pages of the catalogue contain the titles and techniques employed. Look for the word zota to identify the pyrographic ones. Although not noted, it appears the sculptures in wood have many burned details, as well.

Paul Ahyi died 4 January 2010, just 11 days before his 80th birthday. Wikipedia offers Paul Ahyi's biography at the link here.

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