Alphabété: The World Through the Eyes of Frédéric Bruly Bouabré

Amongst the first generation in his native Ivory Coast to be formally taught how to write, Frédéric Bruly Bouabré was inspired to translate the Bété oral language into written form. This artist, poet, researcher, and inventor created an original pictographic alphabet as a way to borrow from, yet subvert, the medium of his French colonizers. From the 1970s until his death in 2014, he also created hundreds of brightly colored postcard-size illustrations that incorporate African writing systems, popular culture, scientific theories, and tongue-in-cheek humor.

We gratefully acknowledge support from the Phyllis Wattis Program Fund and The Barbara and M. Kenneth Oshman Fund.