Victor Sonna is a visual artist based in the Netherlands, originally from Cameroon. His artistic practice is deeply rooted in his personal experience of navigating between two cultures—the tension and duality of reconciling his African heritage with life in his European home. This cultural duality is a recurring theme throughout his work, which includes paintings, sculptures, and large-scale installations.
Recent exhibitions include a solo show at the Van Abbemuseum (2020–2022) and participation in the 2022 Dak’Art Biennale. His work is part of several international collections, including those of the Centraal Museum in Utrecht, the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven, and various private collections worldwide.
Bébélé Zamba (2017-2024)
Embroidery on cloth (94 pieces, ap. 60 x 90 cm each), steel
Installation size variable
Bébélé Zamba is a large-scale installation consisting of 94 embroidered textile portraits of the artist's mother. The work is mounted on a custom steel structure that evokes an umbilical cord, symbolising the lasting connection between mother and child despite physical and emotional distance. Sonna, originally from Yaoundé, Cameroon, has lived in the Netherlands for nearly three decades. Because of unexpected circumstances, direct communication with his mother is no longer possible; this work serves as his attempt to reconnect with and explore their relationship.
The title Bébélé Zamba reflects themes of unconditional parental love, cultural distance, and the evolving dynamics of personal identity. The portraits are divided into six chapters, each corresponding to different phases of the artist’s life. The number of portraits in each chapter relates to Sonna’s age during that period, illustrating how his relationship with his mother developed over time.
Chapter 1: MA KE MA YON MEMA (40 works)
The title loosely means “sometimes losing touch with but always having a heart for.” Sonna began Bébélé Zamba at age forty when he realised he and his mother had become strangers. This chapter reflects the emotional distance that had grown between them.
Chapter 2: Y NDJOMISI O BELLE SONG (6 works)
Titled “The return of what has been repressed,” this chapter refers to the time before Sonna’s father died—his age of innocence. The works are bright, with fresh colours and floating heads surrounded by light, capturing carefree childhood moments.
Chapter 3: ÉÉÉÉÉ PEPA (10 works)
Meaning “My father died at a young age. Since his absence, nothing has been easy,” this chapter shows pairs of faces pulling in opposite directions, symbolising Sonna’s divided identity. It reflects the tension between his parents’ cultures—the Ewondo and Bamileke tribes—their languages, spiritual beliefs, and the tug-of-war within his family. This also illustrates his mother’s dual role as both parents, and the challenges she faced, such as being unable to attend school meetings due to illiteracy.
Chapter 4: IDOUG BIBI MAMA (10 works)
Translating to “Everything you have is the result of continual sacrifice and your efforts to create a better life for us,” this chapter is set around the time of the family’s culte des crânes ritual for Sonna’s father. The works feature two heads—his mother’s and the thoughts she carries unseen. The chapter highlights the religious and cultural schism between his parents: his mother’s faith and his father’s mysticism. Epoxy stains with bone fragments symbolise attempts to reconcile these irreconcilable differences. Compared to other chapters, this series feels particularly restless.
Chapter 5: E NI GUE NDIAM (13 works)
Meaning “Not everything that differs is necessarily bad or of less value,” this chapter addresses the cultural clash Sonna experiences from age thirteen onward. He becomes increasingly torn, manipulated by family members, and caught between his parents’ cultures. Ghostly “glue clouds” visualise his fragmented identity and desire for unity.
Chapter 6: ME N’AZOMBO (15 works, ongoing)
Translated as “A life without concealments or masks feels a lot less burdened,” this chapter represents emotional maturity and acceptance. Sonna creates a new work annually as long as his mother lives. The faces are multicoloured, rounded, and cheerful—symbols of unity and balance, but also masks that hint at emotional distance. This chapter reflects the ongoing evolution of identity shaped by life’s phases, social environments, and personal growth.
Bébélé Zamba represents the complex, foundational relationship between mother and child, as well as the changes brought by time, migration, and memory. It functions both as a personal archive and as a universal reflection on how identity, family, and belonging evolve over time. Its structure physically and conceptually binds the artist’s life story into a single continuum, anchored by the enduring presence of his mother.
Bébélé Zamba was selected by the Commissioning Committee and acquired through the Hartwig Art Production | Collection Fund. It will subsequently be donated to the Dutch state, becoming an integral part of the national art collection (‘Rijkscollectie’), available for institutions in the Netherlands and abroad.