Benjamin
14 years old, in a sculptor school in the Marquesas islands
Benjamin likes to draw. He always draws whenever he has the opportunity, on his hands, on a piece of paper, right at the table ... When he discovers the Training Center for Adolescent (CJA) in Atuona who has the Marquisian sculpture option. He no longer returns to high school and integrates this technical school.
With Maheatete, his sculpture teacher, he gets knowledge but also his autonomy. The sculpture in the Marquesas Islands is something ancestral and each object, each graphic sign has its meaning and its magic (Mana). Since the arrival of the first inhabitants on their canoes (Va'a) 1300 years ago, the art of sculpture continues like the art of tattoos; with the same representations. Young people not only learn how to sculpt, but also the history of ancestral art with its symbols and meanings.
Benjamin likes to carve while listening RAP music and at night he likes to watch an action movie. He also likes to walk in the valleys of his island, Hiva Oa, to discover a tiki engraved in tribute to a warrior, memory of his ancestors.
+ photographs of Benjamin - Full text available on request.
