At the Heart of Me by Paul Sika

At the Heart of Me

By Paul Sika

At The Heart Of Me second edition by Paul Sika Copyright © 2013 by Paul Sika ISBN-10: 0-615-31363-9 ISBN-13: 978-0-615-31363-4 All Rights Reserved.

Published in the United States Cover Photo : Paul Sika Interior Design: Paul Sika, Schaddrack Diéké, Brissi Ziagnon Proofreaders : Marie Diop, Pascale Smeyers I'm a cool guy!

All rights about this book are really reserved, but if you contact me with honesty and fairness, I wouldn't be surprised that we do things together.

Contact me!

At http://www.PaulSika.com

Blurbs “Paul Sika authors a surprising work… half-way between painting and photography… a free electron” – FORBES AFRICA

“A rising star from Ivory Coast… Paul Sika is no ordinary photographer” – CNN “Paul

Sika has attracted global attention with his luminous pictures” – BBC “A Tolkien with a camera in the hand” – Afribuku

About the Author Paul Sika is a Photographer; who believes obstacles are springboards for more creativity and loves to listen to the Whisper of Life

This Book will: Share rich anecdotes for a better and more fun Life, Show an Africa most people do not know about; And help the author get new friends.

Contents Chapter 1: At the Heart of Me Chapter 2: Fouka Riddim Chapter 3: Gl么gl么 Gospel Chapter 4: Charbon Fire Chapter 5: The Awakening of Paillet Valley Chapter 6: Adala Chapter 7: The Macedoine Children Chapter 8: Asana Diallo Chapter 9: Asita Diallo Chapter 10: Feline Chapter 11: Saint Justice Credits

Chapter 1: At the Heart of Me

This is a valuable Art Piece.

[1:0] The young woman sitting in the heart passes the following identity tests: Murielle Nanié, Miss Côte d'Ivoire 2008 and a former classmate of mine. The school was Blaise Pascal, the nationally famous French Lycée of Côte d'Ivoire. Upon arrival, Murielle was as close to getting a female fan club as the dawn was to becoming the dusk. Let's say that beauty was a tremendously effective distance creator. And that space used to be bridged by mostly two types of people: (1) those who thought the trenches were plain unnecessary and (2) those carrying with them great quantities of testosterone.

[1:1] One afternoon, my distraught girlfriend, convinced I had rallied the testosteronauts, snapped at me. What a great way to spend your art class break! And she did that to finally invite me to her wedding a good eight years later. :-) [1:2] This alone shows she wasn't mine as a wife, and implicitly that she also wasn't mine as a girlfriend. We made the wrong and less than best choice.

[1:3] Assuredly, One should wait for the perfect person in their life; the one life partner that Life itself prepares for them as they themselves grow towards maturity.

[1:4] O young, O old!

Do not hurry into girlfriendships and boyfriendships.

Do not waste your queenship and kingship into unnecessary passions.

Rather set your heart onto what matters most.

For in the journey of our life, the distance is long and the obstacles are many.

What type of captain wrecks their own ship?

For having had glimpses of what is away, I can say, that the treasure is well worth the wait.

[1:5] O women, do not let your beauty be too loud, for that which is loud attracts attention, and attention fosters interest, and interest is a banker's best friend.

O women, do seek it! You shall be loved for the heart of you.

[1:6] O men, learn to close your eyes sometimes, for fear of getting glued like a bear gets glued to honey. And if the bear gets glued to honey and the honey is poisonous, what good is it for the bear to have been glued to the honey?

O men, you shall bear witness that fresh water is the best kind.

This is a valuable Art Piece.

[1:7] Long before, when she was in France, Murielle and I had agreed to work together. Good for me, her cousin and good buddy from Blaise Pascal, the talented music producer Sangaré “Nunshack” Abdul-Saïd, informed me of her presence in Abidjan. Shipping myself first-class to her place, I unpacked the photo script only to realize it was narrating her sentimental life.

[1:8] I paused and pondered. What was this or these invisible force(s) architecting my (artistic) life? Surely, it was greater than me. I could not tell whether it slept on La Rue Des Jardins and took a taxi every morning to come and meet me, or whether it ate sushi in Leicester Square. I simply did not know. However, judging by its manifestations, it sometimes felt closer to me than my own heart.

[1:9] Upon seeing the sketches of “At The Heart Of Me”, Murielle was all yes. She'd skip parts of the rehearsal, saying “it's cool”, confident she had the role at heart. Eventually, on the set, it became clear that as the director, I should have insisted to have the full rehearsal.

[1:10] She had modeling experience of the globalized Vogue Magazine type. However, from Vogue to Paul, the style was “Paul-itely’’ rogue. A little direction and she learnt on the spot, heading right to the top. The rogue photographer had his model in role.

[1:11] A fading memory of mine can still picture that a body slowing down and “Turn that music off.” were her answer to one of our mood setting soundtracks. “It reminds me of things I don't want to think about”, she continued. And her previously diagnosed headache was not helping.

[1:12] It was done when I said: “If you are not feeling right, we pack up now and we put off the shoot to another day. It's clear we have come here for the photos, but I'm not for photos to the detriment of models or anyone for that matter, so let me know what you need, what you want”.

[1:13] Light sat upon her heart. Her face changed, becoming more welcoming. The change in her resonated in me. She said: “I am OK! We do it till the end.”. From that moment, the interaction between model and photographer flashed up to a new fashion.

Chapter 2: Fouka Riddim

This is a valuable art piece.

[2:0] Nader Fakhry, the founder of Fouka Riddim, is a true fashion entrepreneur. His initially t-shirt focused company is already into shoes and bags, boasting Fouka Riddim's distinct visual trademark. Like many fellows whose school grounds Nader has conquered, I can spot a Fouka Riddim a dozen meters away.

[2:1] Nader is also a true Lebanese. The Lebanese are to Côte d’Ivoire what the Jews are to the United States. Simply amazing at commerce.

And they stick together, help each other, and have a great P.R. about their community.

[2:2] To this day, I do not remember having ever seen from near or far a poor Lebanese. It is just pop-culturally inconceivable. Although they probably exist, the fact that it is such a challenge to find one, speaks volumes of the inner dynamics of this community.

[2:3] And what good does it bring to brush such a topic? Why is it important to think of such a myth? It is simple. The myth of the wealthy Jew comes from reality. It is the smoke of a particular type of fire. And that fire deserves for our selves a kind gaze.

[2:4] Indeed, analyzing the absence of a thing can reveal important truths about the presence of its opposite. As one studies patterns, one can discover rules and principles underlying phenomena.

Hence, by reflecting upon the lives of the comfortable, it becomes easier to grasp the way to comfort and replicate it elsewhere.

[2:5] In my analysis regarding the wealthy Jew, which is only the archetypal wealthy man, I understand that, of all things, it is the Shema that guaranties honest wealth. Yet the wealth in the Shema is immensely greater than the wealth initially sought through the Shema. And the essence within the words of the Shema is what makes the Shema beautiful.

[2:6] O my nation, my word is expressing and my finger is pointing; O my people, have you not been shown the way to happiness?

This is a valuable art piece.

[2:7] Thought about your moments of emotional fluctuations? As your feelings change, so do your relationships. This one, a close and dear one of yesterday has now become a fleeting mirage. That one, a once worthless one, is now a companion of the great adventure.

[2:8] Ivory Coast is my country of birth. A word that has influenced its youth for years now is “Boucantier”, a slangish way to say “Ruckus-er”.

It is a movement pioneered in Côte d'Ivoire by the now late Douk Saga. Douk would call himself the “Top of the Himalayas”. Welcome to SagaCité.

[2:9] He and Coupé-Décalé, his musical trend, took Côte d'Ivoire by storm.

[2:10] They came with interesting music beats in a time when war was drumming in the northern and western parts of the country.

[2:11] Douk Saga was nothing less than the President of the Jet Set, a conglomerate of musicians moving at the Coupé-Décalé cadence.

[2:12] One of their trademarks would be distributing and throwing loads of bank notes to the audience during their live performances. You can imagine that in times of war, and who says war says economic recession for the majority, Douk Saga and the Jet Set were considered prophets of joy and saviors.

[2:13] Under the appearance of a messianic happiness, our society contracted a mess.

[2:14] Our youth did not have the necessary mental tools to deal with the invasion of the ostentatious. On us it took a toll as the youth increasingly stole. No Good! The examples were dull but they still wanted to follow their i(dull)s.

[2:15] The boucantiers would walk as if the earth belonged to them, praising themselves out of an obvious false sense of righteousness, and the people copied that. DAMN!

This is a valuable art piece.

[2:16] When people begin to adopt patronyms too close neighbors of hymns such as Almighty, Most High, Healer, on the basis of Amazon green bank accounts, you know it is to psychological earthquakes you are amounting.

[2:17] Where did those relatively strong waves for such a fragile youth come from?

[2:18] There were some good points. I won't tear the whole thing (just cause) it came with the wrong (mess)age.

[2:19] The power of Coupé-Décalé, like TV power, is not inherently evil. But as you know, there are channels you really do not want children to tune in. There was a mix of interesting and non-interesting stuff and we got all too well captivated by the non-interesting ones. Of the movement, it is the ruckus, this «Ruck Us», that «Rock Us», that rocked the boat of Us. Thus, we went afloat.

[2:20] Just make sure you know how to pick and choose your interactions with the things around you. The Italian Mafia knows how to dress but my advice is: take the fashion and forget the guns and drugs.

[2:21] He who has ears, let him hear. And I think this is what Nader did. He took the colors; he took the Riddim of Fouka and left Tony Montana’s powder aside.

[2:22] Nader and I artistically met in a colorful world. When testing a newly bought lighting system, I made sure my main models were wearing Fouka Riddim t-shirts.

[2:23] The photos, after a meeting with Nader, led us to agree on me brainstorming for the campaign, which I did for a couple of days. He loved my hurricane.

[2:24] Working on a low budget required the application of a law: in the end, he got his friends involved. More than nine, whom I briefed at mine. They were happy, Nader was happy, I was happy. We were all happily happy in a happy world.

Chapter 3: Gl么gl么 Gospel

This is a valuable art piece.

[3:0] Glôglô means Ghetto in Nouchi, which is Ivorian slang.

Photomaking, coined from Photography and Filmmaking is the name I have given to my photography. Upon completing the Glôglô Gospel photo series, I could speak of the maturation of Photomaking in the following terms: [3:1] Glôglô Gospel was a glow for Paul. By the time I used the Halo, Photomaking's structure had fully said hello. One-frame filmmaking was a year old wish. In Glôglô Gospel, I had fulfilled my pitch.

[3:2] O World population!

Until when will you fail to be objective?

Until when will you be Adam-ant-ly accusing Eve? Will you not ponder the facts of life?

Will you not try to understand yourself?

Or will you keep on declaring things inexistent so that you can continue?

[3:3] I have been on the other side of the righteous socially and I was good at provoking the lefteous rally

[3:4] To have your tastes, thoughts and actions going against established social norms can get you into so Sheol norms.

[3:5] Bear in mind that when wanting to understand, seek and figure out things for yourself, some people will stand in hindrance. You can get into much trouble as well as into much marble. The risks mirror the peaks of a yet intangible triumph. I like it this way; to not live through the veins of others as this is just living in vain.

[3:6] Seeking something that you do not fully grasp, is accepting that you can lose yourself. Your truthful aspiration and humility will lead you onto the good path.

[3:7] Following your dreams can be a dimly lit pathway, where your own little torch is your brightest sun ray.

[3:8] Good work pays. Amidst skeptical fellow countrymen, this is one of the thoughts that enlightened and comforted me in my very unusual and uneasy position of the “guy-who-could-have-been-a-rich-pharmacist-by-inheriting-his-mom's-chemist-shop-but-chose-to-study-softwareengineering-to-finally-want-to-become-a-cineast-and-photographer”.

[3:9] Deep down I knew focusing on establishing true artistic beauty and values was the way. Mass productions, Limited editions, commerce in all its fashion could wait.

[3:10] Remember: La PasSion du Coeur mérite le Pas de Sion.

[3:11] Media and real estate entrepreneur Frederic Tapé and I, with interest, discuss the benefits of the Internet. The generation before us had a lot happening in their garage. I am thinking of Apple's Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak for examples. But our gene-iteration seems to do a lot from the bedroom. Many jeans do go from the bedroom to the boardroom. The Internet is a truly liberating and empowering meta-tool.

[3:12] At the end of a long and tiring Friday, the 5th of June, I checked my mails and saw several Facebook friend requests. “Unusual”, I thought. But it did not take long to become more than obvious. Someone had featured me somewhere on the Internet. Who was it? I hoped Mr Google would answer the question. Indeed, about a few links down the search results, was written “KanYe West : Blog : PHOTOGRAPHER PAUL SIKA”.

[3:13] By the end of that day, my website visits stats reported an increase of 2510%.

This is a valuable art piece.

[3:14] When Branding a new airline was the bid, I went down gathering the line up needed.

[3:15] Together we assembled the vision. The Senior Management Team was fueled by our passion. They applauded our presentation. We heard they rarely did so to anyone in the nation.

[3:16] “I have never seen a presentation like this before”, said the CEO. “You guys have fused marketing, communication, creativity to a whole new level. This is beyond words. Now you should prepare the paper”. And what exactly was “the paper”? That's a question you could see on my face peppered. The paper meant the contract.

[3:17] I wish there was a biological module in the book that you could put on your chest in order to feel what I am going through right now as I remember the scene. It would be so much easier and more accurate than written words.

[3:18] Winning the bid fostered a great amount of joy. Advertising agencies had their shot but our arrow was the one to hit the spot. And this victory was made possible because of some unique factors and qualities put forward by the directors of the airline.

[3:19] Had they made age a requirement for the bid, they would not have seen us; we were the youngest.

[3:20] had they made dress code a requirement, they would not have trusted us; we were shirts and jeans.

[3:21] Had they made corporate outlook a requirement, they would not have pre-selected us; we were a very small ad hoc team.

[3:22] Had they considered unnecessary formalities, they would never have had us and our solution for them; we were out of the formalities.

[3:23] They went to the essential. And by going to the essential, they received the great results they were not even expecting.

[3:24] On the way to Félix Houphouet Boigny airport in Abidjan, a woman is held on a bridge by unusually overzealous policemen doing identity checks. They let her go too late to be able to board when she finally arrives. Sad, she goes back home to see on TV that the plane she missed crashed. The events in our lives are piloted from Above. These are some of the moments of life you start to wonder the tragedies you escaped by not getting what you wanted. Indeed, one should be appreciative for the many things that happen in their lives. It is not always obvious but it is the way to go. Not the easiest of ways but still the right way to go.

[3:25] The set of Glôglô Gospel was immersing for some of us. Directing it was an immense pleasure. There was music carefully selected to set the mood and actor Jean-Vincent Digbé was delivering the Sermon On The Mount with passion, a passion that energized more than his fellow thespians. Later, some people told me they had felt something on the set such as music teacher and on-set DJ Jean-Leon Kassi who started to pray as Jean-Vincent acted out The Christic One.

Chapter 4: Charbon Fire

This is a valuable art piece.

[4:0] Charbon Fire is a trailblazing photo shoot.

[4:1] When asked: “How far do you go in planning shoots beforehand and what is left to chance?”, I essentially replied:

[4:2] The creative process or the science of unpredictability is one of a kind. Usually, I let the idea form in my mind as an embryo where it develops until it is ready to be delivered onto paper. Deliver it too soon and you shatter the idea. I first jot it down as a script through a mix of words, drawings and symbols that everybody can understand after deciphering my cryptic handwriting.

[4:3] There is no chance. There is how much you understand and interact with the very real Creative Force. I have learnt and still learn to understand It as being a member of my team. This force can help you in many ways. It has a lot to do with your state of mind.

[4:4] For example, when working on the Charbon (coal) Fire series, my assistant was worried because I had not scouted for location the whole week I was planning the shoot. Even the coal had not been taken care of and I was still quiet and serene. The reason behind our two different states is that I was aware the scouting had already been taken care of. I knew that by just strolling in a particular area I had not yet visited but whose general direction I was aware of, everything would be waiting for me.

[4:5] And it happened the way I felt it. Nearly all the elements that remained for the set design were there and my assistant was baffled. We got the last element, the coal, from a place not far off and even the way the delivery man put down the pack of coal was the right way. My assistant was once more amazed.

[4:6] Not understanding the Creative Force can easily lead you into laziness and the Creative Force doesn’t like it. You have to do your part of the job and It does Its part, like all team members should.

[4:7] You could ask me how you know you have done your share of the work. Well, when you start developing your conscious relationship with that Creative Force, you automatically start to learn to listen to it. It tells you when you have done what you had to do. There is no chance. There is how much you understand and how well you interact with the Creative Force.

This is a valuable art piece.

[4:8] During the summer of 2006, for a photo series entitled “Two girls”, my first cast and crew in Africa were assembled. I learnt a lot from that shoot. Trust me, you can learn a lot from failures. Yeah, I had my failures too.

[4:9] Too many mistakes I made. The cast and crew were green. No real experience. I was not communicating enough. Many were not taking it seriously. I wasn't much focused either. I gave myself too much material to shoot; it was too soon. I was not experienced enough to take on such a shoot at that time. Unlike today, I just wasn't mind-ready.

[4:10] I had to deal with a little corruption in my crew. Someone had taken the liberty to bribe in my name in order to get a changing room for our models and baggages. Too many people were taking too many initiatives without my consent and I was not controlling as much as I should have. There were just too many directors on the set.

[4:11] I had invited too many people for the first time. I can handle that many people now. In fact my photoshoots have become trademark social gatherings.

[4:12] People frequently ask me when the next shoot is going to be. They know that for at least a day, the world will not appear to them the same again.

[4:13] I never edited the pictures of that shoot. I didn't like them. They didn't have the quality standard I had set in my mind. It wasn't good enough. May be I was too much of a model myself with my dreadlocks descending upon my shoulders, and shooting bear chest, with jeans worn low, underwear sticking up.

[4:14] Basically, a lot of things went wrong. And basically, in a lot of things I became strong.

[4:15] My bad experiences turned out to be the ground and basis of the then most revolutionary and defining photoshoot of my life: Asana Diallo.

This is a valuable art piece. 
 [4:16] The African and the African't Afri-can : Look at Bill Gates and learn from him.

Afri-can't : Yeah but you can only get one richest man on the planet.

Afri-can : Look at Steve Jobs and learn from him.

Afri-can't : Yeah but he is white.

Afri-can : Look at Michael Jordan and learn from him.

Afri-can't : Yeah but he is American. He is in the United States.

Afri-can : Look at Magic System and learn from them.

Afri-can't : Yeah but they buried a living horse to get rich. They used sorcery. 
 [4:17] African'ts refuse to evolve in the positive direction. They will find all the logical and illogical reasons to stop believing that the dream can come true. And this dream is the African dream.

[4:18] The African Dream The African Dream is within reach.

The African Dream is within, rich.

The African Dream is within inch.

The African Dream is within each.

The Afri-Can is within!

The Afree-Can is within!

This is the slam.

This is the Psalm.

Salam!

[4:19] Charbon Fire was my answer to several questions.

[4:20] And as it is written: “The Good end is for the righteous”.

[4:21] The question now is: Will we be righteous enough to deserve the good end?

[4:22] Say you are an artist and you may have just degraded yourself in the eyes of some people.

[4:23] I have a friend who was psychologically shocked by his mother. When the news was broken to her that he was going to music school, she talked to him in private and with the most negative tone she said: “Your friends want to be physicians and computer scientists, and you, it is music you want to do?”. Right there a seed for self-destruction was planted.

[4:24] Choosing the arts does not mean having failed in all other fields and does not mean being a failure. This traveling and sometimes pervading belief has done enough hurt.

[4:25] Parents do not always realize how much their opinions and ways can weigh upon their children's shoulders. A thing that seems little can literally destroy the one who does not have the internal mechanism for mind-garbage-collection.

[4:26] Parents can be some of the most effective dream breakers in the world.

[4:27] O parents! Encourage rather than discourage. Empower rather than belittle. For, I have seeded in your children their passions. And their passions are their roads back to me. And your children, are they your children or are they my children? Can you make them twice? I can make them twice and I have shown it to you.

[4:28] O parents, take care of your children as good gardeners.

Does the good gardener say to the rose “be a hibiscus” and to the hibiscus “be a rose”?

O parents, heed you my descent, for in it is the best blooming. I shall help you in the raising of them.

Chapter 5: The Awakening of Paillet Valley

This is a valuable art piece.

[5:0] Asked this recurring question, “What Does it Mean to be An African ?”, I essentially answered: [5:1] To be an African is a question that all Africans should care to try to answer.

[5:2] To be an African is to listen to the younger ones when they say something sensible instead of accusing them of disrespect as they tell a truth.

[5:3] To be an African is to admit that the social constructs are not perfect.

Therefore, we must analyze and deconstruct where necessary and reconstruct based on the results of our best analysis and knowledge.

[5:4] To choose to be called by one’s name instead of cluttering oneself with misused titles, which in the end, become barriers for communication and integration.

[5:5] To understand that a tree without roots is not much of one, that having roots without a trunk is staying underground, and the absence of leaves and fruits is non accomplishment.

[5:6] To understand that greatness is in the quality of one’s actions and not in the number of years lived.

[5:7] To wish to learn more and to wish to understand the deeper mechanisms of things.

[5:8] To understand that chance does not exist, just being a place holder for dynamics unknown.

[5:9] To understand that the diploma means nothing if the knowledge is not also acquired. Hence, choose knowledge over diploma.

[5:10] To understand that truth is not and will never be democratic; that democracy works when the people attain a threshold of wisdom. Indeed, it is better to have a wise monarch than an unwise democratically elected leader.

[5:11] To understand that someday, a woman will be president of the United States of Africa.

[5:12] To understand that thinking by proxy is a somewhat dangerous activity.

[5:13] To understand that in the ignorance and inexperience of some, great truths can be spoken. Indeed, Africa would rather be a country.
 [5:14] To understand that by way of strength, one may restrict, but only by way of virtue, one may attain love.

[5:15] To understand that great and amazing innovation can come from Africa. Even better, to understand that it is happening already.

[5:16] To understand that Africa will be what we make of it.

[5:17] To understand that prayer is good, and that action should follow prayer.

[5:18] To recognize our mistakes and apologize no matter how young the person offended is.

[5:19] To give a petty amount of money to one’s relative so they can heal instead of waiting for their death and then be ostentatious and ruin the family to bury a dead body.

[5:20] To put not only our boys through school but also our girls. For a country whose girls do not have access to education is a country not even half blessed.

[5:21] To contribute to others’ success instead of finding ways to delay them saying “why should he be relieved when I am still in problems”.

[5:22] To find a better way to grow than by cutting people’s feet.

[5:23] To understand that religious aggression in all its shapes and forms is partial or complete loss of the aggressor’s soul.

[5:24] To see that we all have a share of good and evil within us and that life demands of us that we wipe out the evil and stand firm in ultimate goodness.

[5:25] As Evolution happens in stages, it is necessary to understand where we are in order to best prepare for the next step.

[5:26] Understanding the dynamics of relationships between individuals and groups is key to making the best move of our time and at all times.

[5:27] Eventually the question of what it ultimately means to be an African is the same as what it means to be American, or what it means to be European or Australian. For the ultimate stage of evolution is the same: perfection of mankind.

[5:28] Therefore, it is important to understand that in this evolutionary system, to be an African, or European or American or Asian or Australian are just starting points; they are defining an earthly starting point and a set of challenges that we ought to approach wisely.

[5:29] We must understand that these temporary starting elements such as skin color, height, weight, health and all that are part of the material world form a contextual field for the greater purpose of the definition of us.

[5:30] In order to succeed in this system, it is necessary that we understand the different vantage points that are possible to take.

[5:31] That we seek not be African or American or European or Asian or Australian but that we seek to be humans.

[5:32] That we seek not to create other temporary attributes but transcend the social, cultural, political and biological envelopes.

[5:33] That we seek to define ourselves not by the earth but by the sky.

[5:34] For we are all human beings and therefore our goals are universally the same.

[5:35] It is important to understand that nationalities, on a social and political level translate into a set of global rights. Rights can be granted to you and recognized by others or taken away from you, but no matter what is given to you and what is taken away from you, you still have the power to choose to be human.

[5:36] And to be human is to have been given such ability and such privilege.

Indeed it is not so much about what comes to you, but about how you respond to what comes to you. In that is the great test.

[5:37] To be an African is to reach the sky from the earthly African social cultural context, just like to be a European is to reach the sky from the earthly European social cultural context.

[5:38] There are universal values which are eternal and there are cultural values which are temporary. Clinging onto the cultural and temporary and wanting to make them everlasting, is one of the best ways to lose in the system of life. Intelligence as being the ability to adapt to temporary matters, all the while respecting the boundaries of the great universal values, is one of the best ways to win in the system of life.

[5:39] Of all gifts possible, if I could give any to myself right now, if I could give one to the whole of Context Africa and the whole world right now, it would without doubt be wisdom.

[5:40] In it, is the end of all sufferings.

In it, is the end of all disunity.

In it, is the essence of unity.

In the application of it, is the realization of true worldwide happiness.

Chapter 6: Adala

[6:0] When Saint-Paul appeared to me as I was moving a bathtub around in the street, he said: “You are a strange guy, doing a strange thing.”.

[6:1] NOTE: Saint-Paul is my neighbor’s real name.

[6:2] Saint-Paul is the guy always smiling when he sees me. But that smile may not be as innocent as it looks. There was a time the only adjective he would use with me was “crazy”. And an act that did not help in proving my innocence was writing on my house front wall: “Live like an artist, die like an artist, and realize there is no death”.

[6:3] However, through inviting him and many others to also tape messages on my front wall, I converted Saint-Paul to my belief system. Seeing the fun in that other side of mental health, Saint-Paul became the number one preacher of the writing on Neighbor Paul's wall. Indeed, those who ridicule you at first may become your greatest allies. Life is “crazy”.

[6:4] With a wall full of messages, I was no longer the fool.

Reticent at first, they didn’t know what to write. “write that you don’t know what to write”; and suddenly they would find something to say.

The drink-through-your-ears idea had become an ideal.

He had said it was silly. Then he helped me develop the silliness.

Sticking to your ideas can change the world. I witnessed it in Belles Fleurs.

!

[6:5] I said about my photography: slightly overlapping, Monochrome, Illustrations and Photomaking, are the three great periods of my photography. As a complete beginner, there was a lot of Monochrome, yet very much interested in colors. The photos related real life facts and events. I was simply a witness of my surroundings.

[6:6] Then with Illustrations, the images are getting some scrambling treatment. They are mixes of several photos, of different kinds of subjects: people, nature, objects, animals.... some start to have a surreal/fantastic feel to them. At this stage, I started to insert/inject my vision.

[6:7] Then Photomaking was the last/latest stage where I am without inhibition projecting my own vision onto the photo such as with the “At The Heart Of Me” photo series.

[6:8] The set was our most ambitious. We built and painted the brick wall, carved out the heart. “You are putting too much money in it”, they would say. I would not listen to them. I would listen to the Creative Force.

[6:9] When I think about it, it is as if I was on one TV/CONSCIOUSNESS channel (Monochrome) then looking for/tuning into another TV/ CONSCIOUSNESS channel (Photomaking) and the process of that tuning out of Monochrome and into Photomaking is Illustrations.

Chapter 7: The Macedoine Children

[7:0] “In 2003, when I was studying English in London in order to start my studies in Software Engineering, I realized I was in love with cinema.

[7:1] I was walking down Tottenham Court Road on my way home when I got mesmerized by the Matrix Reloaded trailer that was playing in a shop window.

[7:2] Right there on the spot, when seeing that Agent, in the famous Highway scene, jumping from one car and crash-landing on another, I realized I wanted to make movies.

[7:3] I thought to myself “is it this type of imagination that is required to make movies? Because if it is, then I think I am well equipped”.

[7:4] I then started to think about my past, remembering how I was very attracted to video games, which I was playing nearly all the time.

[7:5] I love storytelling too. I was once the Game Master at some Role Playing Game, and I would create the story and narrate live. I even managed to convey fear to the players in bright day light.

[7:6] So from that life changing moment, I wanted to enter a filmmaking school instead of a Software Engineering one. The ones I had discovered, were too expensive for me so I entered Westminster University for the Software Engineering course. After a year I wanted to drop out, but in the end I did not and finished with Distinction.

[7:7] Very much interested in cinema, but not wanting to jeopardize my studies I bought a still camera with in mind that I would explore the still image as it is the unit of the moving picture and when I'd be done with Software Engineering, I'd get into a film school.”

This is a valuable art piece.

[7:8] On the set of “Always Coca Cola”, playing an off camera crazy Film director, I started to swear in English. The kids around me thought it was cool so after some time they started to repeat what I was saying. Take a pause. Focus. Gear up your ears, eyes and imagine a dozen non English speaking children innocently chanting “f*** you” with all their hearts and smiles. Aware of the new movement I had started, I rushed around saying “kids you shouldn't say that. It is bad”. But how could I convince them when I was laughing my head off?

[7:9] The kids are adorable but they live in tough conditions. The kids are adorable but to them nobody pays attention. The kids are adorable but they constitute the rabble. The kids are adorable but will they be more than a durable?

[7:10] The truth is, although the government should take its responsibilities, I am not waiting for any affinities. If they do it, Good. If they don't, I was no fool. We should go for it. We should kick off, put that ball in the goal, because the kids are adorable.

[7:11] When the administration took the wrong direction, it became the admini-stray-tion. And when it missed its “R”, and by that I mean its Rights, it halted at admini-stay-tion. Fierce recession! We felt the admini-slay-tion. No surprise! What do you expect from an admini-slay(ve)tion?

[7:12] The youth are sicking their fountain. That's why I am dropping in, puddling in. Please come and let us sea it together.

Chapter 8: Asana Diallo

This is a valuable art piece.

[8:0] Asana Diallo, this beautiful tall young lady, has been the precursor of a new wave of stories and photoshoots.

[8:1] In 2006, I was at Angy's with several friends, among whom psychologist Manténé Diallo. For some reason, which I ignore today, I started to tell her a story I was creating on the spot.

[8:2] As I was doing so, it was having a very strong impression on myself. The impression was so strong that I felt I had to write it down. But I wanted to test the idea even more to see whether it would last. We were meant to go out that night so I said to myself: “If tomorrow when I get home, I still have such a strong impression, I write it down”. At dawn, the impression had not faded. Instead, it had exploded.

[8:3] When writing into my script writing software, I started to feel an urgent need to see the main character of that story. And that character was Asana Diallo.

[8:4] The name “Diallo” comes from the fact that I was originally telling the story to Manténé whose family name is Diallo. And days before, she and I had been speaking about Alpha Blondy, the pioneering and famous reggae singer from Côte d'Ivoire, and one of his songs in which he mentions a Fanta Diallo. She seems to be a woman he loved very much. Fanta Diallo happens to be a member of Manténé's extended family. All of that left me very open to choosing Diallo as the last name of my character.

[8:5] And the name “Asana” comes from the modification of Sanata, a friend I would spend a lot of time with.

This is a valuable art piece.

[8:6] At the time I was working on the first Asana Diallo script, DJ Lewis, a DJ who was rocking it strong with his single “grippe aviaire”(bird flu), injected a lot of chickens into my imagination. Thus, executing the script meant casting chickens.

[8:7] During our search, we met a man who called himself “Koffi Gombo”, which means “Koffi Quick-Deals”. He was just like his name said : Quick. His deal? Invoice us for showing the direction of the chicken farm that everybody but us knew. The farm was not even far. We were just on unexplored grounds. He talked about the money issue as a joke but it was a serious joke. Our senses of humor diverged.

[8:8] When we reached the chicken farm, we met an employee who tried to impersonate his boss in order to pocket the farm rent money. When his boss came, he chickened out.

[8:9] With Marceline Konan, make up and hair styling started.

[8:10] One of the things I had not controlled on the “Two girls” shoot started to creep in: work not taken seriously enough. I had to shush them several times. In the end, they understood... for a little while. And they were making funny jokes, which I myself smiled at. Not easy to shush them in these conditions. We found a balance.

[8:11] About half an hour to forty minutes into the photography, my attention was suddenly attracted to some place not far off. Pausing the shoot, I headed where those strong thoughts were pointing. There, I found myself on one of those dusty soccer pitches we have here. Horizons coming closer, vision claiming deeper, I was having my epiphany. I knew I had to stay there.

[8:12] All of that chicken stuff was just gold nuggets to lead me to this. From the beginning, this is where everything was meant to happen. Kids who wanted to play soccer approached me. I was on their pitch. “Welcome boys. You have just been cast. Play in the shoot. Play soccer and be in the photos at the same time.”

[8:13] Very interesting a point, is how, in the end, the children reflect the original Asana Diallo script. Surely, The deal of the year.

[8:14] I understood a lot that day about directing. How do you direct someone who is not prepared for a shoot? You don't. Or at least you do not direct directly. You create the required reality and people in it will behave as you require. Look at Life, the best movie; are people not playing accordingly?

This is a valuable heart piece.

[8:15] Scripts, to me, have become just a way to move along a path unknown. I sometimes call creativity the science of unpredictability.

[8:16] I learnt a lot about letting myself be guided by the Creative Force. It revealed much more of Itself to me. I was being given live textbooks; Wisdom nuggets.

[8:17] On Asana Diallo, I transcended myself, reaching an upper step on the ladder. And it did not stop there.

[8:18] Back home I did not instantly download the pictures. Instead, the post-production passionate who would have never started photography without mature digital technologies, told himself : “Let us be patient. We start Tomorrow.”. I was truly becoming something else. I was growing up and I was conscious of it. The following day, I quietly opened my laptop and started the work. The time was about 7 o'clock in the morning and by 1 o’clock in the afternoon, I was done. I remember that when editing the photos, I was in a NO TIME ZONE and when I came back to GMT, I was satisfied.

[8:19] Back at Angy's, with about the same friends present during Asana Diallo's genesis, I showed the work. Upon seeing it, they started screaming. And Manténé Diallo quietly said : “You'd better not give up on this photography. Keep going.”.

[8:20] When I showed the pictures to my crew at Jean-Roger's, they had a similar reaction. But Arthur was quiet though. When I looked at him, it is as if he was looking into the future. I don't know what he saw. But judging by his face, it was positive.

[8:21] A former actress for her school’s theatrical company, my mother tells me I take my artistic fiber from her, a saying her friends confirm as they relate our archetypal likeness. My mother invested in the Asana Diallo shoot. She could help me and she did. She was even with me at the market buying the necessary items. The Kita fabric that Asana Diallo wears comes from her wardrobe.

[8:22] My mother has a saying that she kindly repeats to me: “The safest asylum is the Heart of a Mother”. And it is with no doubt that you have been a bunker for me. When the times were storming me, you were always there, trying to help. I can't thank you enough, Mami. I can't thank you enough. Noelle Kassi, you my mother, May you be persecuted by Peace.

This is a valuable art piece.

[8:23] In London, I encountered a painter who used to take his art very seriously. We would have heated discussions (heated in arguments, not punches). His intellectual understanding of the importance of art and artists earned my respect. If I have learnt something from him, it is that. I forgot much. I did not spend enough time with him. But he was surely embodying the artist with the commercial fiber.

[8:24] He wanted me to use Seraphim as my artist name. Our ideal? To be artistically great and commercially viable. We found it beautiful. So I asked him: “Are you talking about for example an artist being as powerful as Sony?�. He said that was not what he was thinking about but that it was still a good example.

[8:25] The painter was mentored by a Nobel Prize nominee.

[8:26] On the contrary, I never really had mentors. I am a ronin, a free mind traveling from town to town, exchanging life artifacts with other souls. I met a lot of people; from Marcelin Gomez with the deep thoughts of African Disney, to the beautiful verses of Le Foudl'art; in the end, I remained a Yojimbo, which has its sharp and blunt sides of the sword.

[8:27] Now that have been gathered the main gemstones, it is time to build the House of Sika, and all willing associate builders from all cornerstones around the worlds are welcome.

The Word is out; let It be known; the Constellation is on the move.




Chapter 9: Asita Diallo

This is a valuable art piece.

[9:0] In a café-bar-restaurant in Abidjan, a photographer, remembering my exhibition, said to me: “What we saw is beautiful but I think Paul Sika is not a photographer. He is a graphics designer”. The photographer had thought the photos were initially photos of separate people that I had composed into one. Understanding it, I said: “All the people that you see in the photos were there in those positions at the time the photos were taken. I am a motion picture director who happens to use a still camera.”. He looked at me, shook my hand, then said : “You only know someone when you meet them. I am sorry. I had not noticed. Your work is great.”.

[9:1] One of the things that characterizes pioneers is the wise non acceptance of established rules and limits. They think and act beyond boundaries and let their creativity fly.

[9:2] Asita Diallo, coincidentally, is played by a person whose name is Assita. Mélissa Séri, who plays Asana Diallo, was seeing me off after a visit, when past her gate, I noticed a tall thin red haired black girl. “Unusual in this part of the world”, I quadruple-thought. “I wouldn't mind having her in a shoot someday”. I had a feeling she was living in the area so I did not do much that day. I later talked to Mélissa who said she knew her. She therefore briefed Assita before going to see her myself. Her mom had a food place in Attogban market and she was the second in command. When I got there, I noticed that Assita was an avid reader of fashion magazines. You could tell, given the bunch sitting not far from the cooking pan. Another piece of good work from the Creative Force. This girl was the one.

[9:3] It was not easy to get Assita on the shoot because she had to take care of her mother who fell sick just a couple of days before the scheduled session. We put the shoot off to another day but it still did not happen because her mom was still not feeling well. Assita started to feel guilty for not being able to make it to the shoot. Moreover, she thought that me saying “don’t worry, it is not grave” was my attempt at political correctness. If she was not in the shoot, there would be no shoot. I was willing to wait. When her mother got better, we set off for the Sacred Land of Asana Diallo, where I cast my kids again. I knew I'd find them there.

This is a valuable art piece.

[9:4] This photo gave me a hard time for the editing. I built and destroyed it several times. I didn't even start in C么te d'Ivoire as it was time to depart for London. And in London I did not carry on right away, mulling over it for a week. I had just been learning about patience so maybe it was the test to see whether or not I had got the lesson right.

[9:5] In high school, there was this recurrent topic for dissertations that would come in slightly different variations but that essentially were the same: to discuss art. And I'd always end with the same ending, it too, in slightly different variations but that essentially were the same: the best art piece one could ever create is the one that allows a person to see their own soul, just as if they were looking into a mirror. Such an artwork would clearly show you your strengths and weaknesses therefore mapping what you would have to correct.

[9:6] Is it a type of work that a human can make? One would have to be knowledgeable about the inner workings of the human being to pull such a fit. My opinion? Only those who have travelled that road can give you such mapping artwork.

Chapter 10: Feline

This is a valuable art piece.

[10:0] One Londonian Sunday morning, I got Soul Diomande on the line and to my surprise, they were preparing a photoshoot. With my gear, I rushed to his place, where a nice forest themed set was awaiting me. He had made it together with Osty of Osty Couture.

[10:1] This shoot featured Osty's fashion creations and I was extremely eager to shoot. While Soul was having his first round of photos, I got to chat with a model I felt a connection with: Natalie Nwagbo. Her reactivity hit me. Of the models there, I knew it was with her I wanted to try a new idea.

[10:2] So I impatiently-patiently waited for Soul to finish before taking over. In that small room of a thousand leaves, I briefed Natalie and started to act my own directions so she could picture our upcoming journey. Upon seeing Osty's fur top, I invented a story about Natalie being a tigress, a character we both ended up playing. I would play and she would learn by copying me until she would descend her own flow.

That is because she had understood. Thus, I wasn't alone. She was coming from Pluto too.

[10:3] I had such a good time with her, I did not want it to end. The relationship was perfect. She was listening to what I was saying, truly trying to deliver. And I cared for her. I did not want her to go too violently about it because she could get hurt with the branches. But it happened anyway. She got hurt. But in the end, what struck and remained was her resilience.

[10:4] She wanted to continue. She kept asking, more facially than verbally, whether I had what I wanted. I didn't have only a model in front me, I had a dear friend. And when it gets to this level, it can only be a success.

[10:5] Shooting with Natalie was so good, I wanted to do it again and it was reciprocal. But she said I was a little bit crazy though. That undercover compliment could only, on me, glue more glee.

[10:6] Soul and I were creative orphans who formed a strong bond of brotherhood. We exchanged whenever we could. My four years in London have been memorable. Many things happened. I experimented with all out information access. Whatever I wanted to read about, I would find.

Did I not use to spend hours in the bookshops of Charring Cross?

Chapter 11: Saint Justice

[11:0] As you are, So will I. [11:1] You raise me into Life and treasure me with your friendship.

[11:2] You saved me from the house of illusions and lead me into essential battles.

[11:3] You healed my wounds with knowledge and dispelled my myst with understanding.

[11:4] All my whiz is a glimpse of your wisdom.

[11:5] My freedom in your hand, all I want is your Justice.

[11:6] You alone can speak of my guilt and my innocence.

[11:7] Guardian of me, You pierce them with the scent of the rising sun.

[11:8] My now is perfect. You calculated for me the best present.

[11:9] Master of the moments, You guarantee my journey.

[11:10] And will remain at the heart of me, only, the thought of you.

Credits At The Heart Of Me: Murielle Nanié Fouka Riddim: Nader Fakhry, Franck Goba, Nadia Belghazi, Salam Mourad, Yves-Alain Topka ( Tya Vuitton), Martial Ouattara, Seynabou Camara, Franck Govoei, Jihane Sy, Mohamed Kebet, Claude-Axelle Laubhouet, Mohamed Belghazi, Gaëlle Jahu Glôglô Gospel: Jean-Vincent Digbé, Suzanne M'Bra, Valery Koffi, Angela Lishou, Carole-Emmanuelle Akondé, Assita Ouattara, Noelly N'Guessan, Affoué Mireille Caroline Ipou, Christine Foua-Bi, Laeticia Madeleine Bamba, Evelyne Kouaho, Marc-Antoine Brou Kessé, Cédric N'Guessan Charbon Fire: Mélissa Séri, Valery Koffi, Cédric N'Guessan The Awakening of Paillet Valley: Jean-Vincent Digbé, Certain Kouassi, Valery Koffi, Cédric N'Guessan, Mélissa Séri Carole-Emmanuelle Akondé, Marianne Dona-Fologo, Félicia Carmen Moya Niamké, Axel Olivier Koffi Niamké Adala: Mélissa Séri, Jean-Vincent Digbé, Certain Kouassi, André Kouassi Kouassi, Cédric N'Guessan, Ahmed Barry, Valery Koffi, Jean-Roger Djama, Sylvain N'Goran The Macedoine Children: Arthur Goa, The Nouveau Quartier Children - boys section Asana Diallo: Mélissa Séri, The Nouveau Quartier Children - boys section Asita Diallo: Assita Ouattara, The Nouveau Quartier Children - girls section Feline: Natalie Nwagbo Saint Justice: Natalie Nwagbo Hair & Make Up: Marceline Konan, Pauline Rattery Head of Logistics: Arthur Goa Production assistants: Jean-Paul Djama, Jean-Roger Djama, Emmanuel Djama, Marie-Joseph Djama