Josèfa Ntjam
Ectocarpus #2, 2023
Masque de feu, 2024
Ectocarpus #2, 2023
Masque de feu, 2024
Collection
Josèfa Ntjam
Ectocarpus #2, 2023
Photomontage printed by sublimation on aluminum
187 x 120.5 x 3.5 cm
TBA21 Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary Collection
Josèfa Ntjam
Masque de feu, 2024
Digital print bonded to double-layered Plexiglas
40 x 30 x 4 cm
TBA21 Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary Collection
Josèfa Ntjam is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice merges visual art, storytelling, and critical research. Her work draws Afrofuturism, postcolonial studies, and ecological thought, using photomontage, sculpture, video, and writing to construct layered narratives that interrogate identity, memory, and speculative futures. Ntjam’s works often incorporate elements from archival sources, mythology, and scientific imagery, weaving them into compositions that challenge dominant historical narratives while imagining alternative ecosystems of belonging and transformation.
Masque de feu is a digital print bonded to double-layered Plexiglas. In this work, Ntjam combines fragmented visuals with complex overlays, creating a vibrant, kaleidoscopic mask-like structure. The layered Plexiglas enhances the sense of depth, making the piece appear almost holographic. Masque de feu evokes themes of regeneration and transformation, referencing fire as both a destructive and purifying force. By reimagining traditional mask forms through a contemporary lens, Ntjam invites viewers to reconsider the role of masks in cultural identity and ritual not as fixed symbols but as evolving entities that embody resilience and reinvention.
Ectocarpus #2 is a photomontage printed by sublimation on aluminum. This large-scale work draws inspiration from the microscopic marine algae Ectocarpus, a key subject in studies of ecological networks and adaptation. Ntjam’s elaborate compositions of images—including magnified organic forms, fragmented bodies, and cosmic landscapes—creates a dynamic visual field that oscillates between the terrestrial and the aquatic. The sublimation printing technique enhances the luminous quality of the work, reflecting its conceptual engagement with fluidity and interconnectedness. Ectocarpus #2 speaks to the artist’s ongoing exploration of water as a medium of memory, migration, and transformation, positioning it as both a life source and a site of resistance.
Together, the two works exemplify Ntjam’s ability to craft speculative imaginaries that blur boundaries—between human and nonhuman, past and future, destruction and renewal. Her practice offers a poetic yet critical lens on the complexities of identity and the potential for new modes of collective existence.
Ectocarpus #2, 2023
Photomontage printed by sublimation on aluminum
187 x 120.5 x 3.5 cm
TBA21 Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary Collection
Josèfa Ntjam
Masque de feu, 2024
Digital print bonded to double-layered Plexiglas
40 x 30 x 4 cm
TBA21 Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary Collection
Josèfa Ntjam is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice merges visual art, storytelling, and critical research. Her work draws Afrofuturism, postcolonial studies, and ecological thought, using photomontage, sculpture, video, and writing to construct layered narratives that interrogate identity, memory, and speculative futures. Ntjam’s works often incorporate elements from archival sources, mythology, and scientific imagery, weaving them into compositions that challenge dominant historical narratives while imagining alternative ecosystems of belonging and transformation.
Masque de feu is a digital print bonded to double-layered Plexiglas. In this work, Ntjam combines fragmented visuals with complex overlays, creating a vibrant, kaleidoscopic mask-like structure. The layered Plexiglas enhances the sense of depth, making the piece appear almost holographic. Masque de feu evokes themes of regeneration and transformation, referencing fire as both a destructive and purifying force. By reimagining traditional mask forms through a contemporary lens, Ntjam invites viewers to reconsider the role of masks in cultural identity and ritual not as fixed symbols but as evolving entities that embody resilience and reinvention.
Ectocarpus #2 is a photomontage printed by sublimation on aluminum. This large-scale work draws inspiration from the microscopic marine algae Ectocarpus, a key subject in studies of ecological networks and adaptation. Ntjam’s elaborate compositions of images—including magnified organic forms, fragmented bodies, and cosmic landscapes—creates a dynamic visual field that oscillates between the terrestrial and the aquatic. The sublimation printing technique enhances the luminous quality of the work, reflecting its conceptual engagement with fluidity and interconnectedness. Ectocarpus #2 speaks to the artist’s ongoing exploration of water as a medium of memory, migration, and transformation, positioning it as both a life source and a site of resistance.
Together, the two works exemplify Ntjam’s ability to craft speculative imaginaries that blur boundaries—between human and nonhuman, past and future, destruction and renewal. Her practice offers a poetic yet critical lens on the complexities of identity and the potential for new modes of collective existence.