Voitures Partout

2005-2007

Ballpoint pen, coloured pencils on cardboard, series of 182 drawings

16 x 10.5 cm (6 5/16 x 4 1/8 in.) (each) Overall dimensions: 103 x 571.5 x 1.5 cm (40 9/16 x 225 x 9/16 in.)

182 small boxes featuring drawings of cars in coloured pencil and ballpoint pen. Four cars are shown in each box, with the flag of a different country. Around the edge is written: “Cars, cars everywhere: a traffic jam in the heart of [the capital city corresponding to the flag], or an exposure of the rich.”

The series Voitures Partout (Cars Everywhere) (2005 - 2007) was inspired by the traffic jams Bruly Bouabré observed in Abidjan, the biggest city in Ivory Coast. The car is, amongst other things, a symbol of high social status. By differentiating the cars using national flags, Bruly Bouabré underscores the idea that rather than dividing the rich from the poor, cars unite the whole world, eliminating borders between countries.

The artist’s work in the Pinault Collection was presented at the Palazzo Grassi at the "Le Monde vous appartient" (“The World Belongs to You”) exhibition (2011-2012).
Exhibitions