From October 1 through 31, 2022, as part of its end-of-summer artistic festivities and a month of art-based events in Paris, Samaritaine is displaying a piece by the multi-talented Cameroonian artist Barthélémy Toguo.

For 1 month, visitors are invited to experience his imposing installation Road to Exile, a poetic masterpiece that lets imagination and dreams run free. Aboard this boat bound for an unknown destination, the artist gives us a glimpse of a new life on the path to a universal destiny.

Created in 2008 and notably exhibited at the Quai Branly museum, it now stands under Samaritaine's glass facade. Here, on the ground floor of the Pont-Neuf store behind the grand staircase, it can tell its story and convey its message to the people of Paris.

Road to Exile is a direct reference to Barthélémy Toguo's monumental work The Pillar of the Missing Migrants, which was created for the Louvre and is on display beneath the pyramid until January 2023.

Biography of Barthélémy Toguo

Born in Cameroon, Barthélémy Toguo attended the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, before continuing his studies in France and Germany. His portfolio, which encompasses paintings, videos, sculptures and installations, has been exhibited at the Centre Pompidou, the Venice Biennale and the Palais de Tokyo exhibition center. Through his eyes as a critic and activist, Barthélémy Toguo delivers work that is full of emotion.