In his works, Kossi Homawoo promotes Togo’s artisanal know-how. He renews traditional forms by creating lighting and furniture for decoration lovers. His commitment is both social and artistic. He has developed a production workshop in Lomé to produce his collections of lighting, chairs and armchairs while providing jobs for local artisans.
Creation is my life, whether mine or other artists, what would we do without it? For me, this is the essence of life.
Kossi Homawoo founder of Chako Design « Chako for Charlotte and Kossi. With Charlotte, the mother of my eldest children, we merged our two first names and it sounded good, Chako. »
Kossi Homawoo was born in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo), to a Ghanaian father and a Beninese mother. He grew up in Togo, pursued studies in management and accounting in France, then retrained in the artistic field. After opening galleries in Paris, he moved to Toulouse where he developed his activities as a designer of lighting and furniture. Although self-taught, he relies on his technical skills and his ability to work closely with Togolese artisans to bring his ideas to life.
« I always wanted to develop something at home (au Togo) and as I paid my craftsmen quite well, there were plenty of them who came, so we created the workshop. We were making lighting. After two years, one of the largest French and even European decoration distributors ordered 4 000 lampshades we made in Togo. »
« While I was in Togo, I created my first piece of furniture, the Love Chair. I am self-taught. With a gentleman who works iron, I designed my furniture for him. Three days later, he brought it to me. There was also a young braider on my street who I asked to braid. I fell in love with furniture. I expanded my search. I wanted to see what was behind it. A seat is often personal, we have our soul in it. This made me want to go further, I designed other furniture, other armchairs. »
Beyond his own creative practice, Kossi Homawoo is involved in the promotion of African and diaspora artists through initiatives such as the group The Artists. « Les Arteurs is an openness to everything else, it’s about being able to present the must, the most original creations from Africa to the world. All creators of African sensibility, even French, Europeans, Americans, who create things from African materials and design. The artists of“Artists” I meet them on social networks, they allow us to reach the whole world. »
This Togolese designer likes to experiment with a wide variety of materials, combining traditional techniques and innovative approaches. This diversity allows him to give shape to his ideas. “ I shop around, I buy paper. There are papers that I use after 15 or 20 years, I buy them, collect them and when I’m on my work table, at one point it inspires me and I can use it. I like iron and wood, but that requires mastery, knowledge that I do not master. I tried, I took sculpture classes, welding classes, but the life I lead, my condition doesn’t allow me to do it. You have to have space, patience, mastery, and spend time in a workshop. I’m lucky enough to have a workshop close to home where I have my structures made. Afterwards, I dress them, I introduce my designs into a lot of lighting fixtures. Obviously, this is where imagination and material come into play. »
Kossi Homawoo also moves forward instinctively. “ I think I’m in work mode all the time. I pass in front of a store, I say to myself “this shop is beautiful, I would like to see my lighting there or the furniture of a craftsman that I promote”. I’m going to go back there. And it often happened to me to hear “No sir, we don’t do ethnic!” It doesn’t mean anything, ethnicity. In my creations, I don’t do ethnic, I don’t just make objects that look like Togolese or Africans or Senegalese, no ! It’s reductive. That’s 40 years that I have been in France, when I travel, I go to the United States. There are things I see that I like. In my creations, my African sensitivity comes out and that’s so much the better. »
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