The objects he plans to show at Collect are richly hued and intricately textured. Each form juxtaposes motifs from traditional Beninese ritual vessels with the whimsy of contemporary Japanese visual culture. Houndekpinkou cites animator and Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki as an influence; he has also recently been playing Ghost of Tsushima, an action-adventure game set in medieval Japan.
Animism, which has African and Asian incarnations, is a consistent through-line. Even the medium is a melange: Houndekpinkou blends commercial clay bodies with earth from places he’s travelled to, from Germany and Japan to the American midwest.
Each piece begins at the wheel, where Houndekpinkou throws cups, bottles, plates, bowls, and vases. These component parts are then conjoined into nonfunctional Frankenstinean ‘totems’ that simultaneously attract and repel viewers.