 |  | Made in Porto-Novo (detail) (2009). Found objects installation. © the artist, October Gallery |
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In his best-known work, 2005's La Bouche du Roi (Mouth of the King), he turned dozens of masks formed by black plastic petrol cans into a replica of a ship which transported slaves from Africa to North America and Europe for centuries.
A series of new masks feature in Made in Porto-Novo, but perhaps the most moving section is A Day in the Life, a walk-through soundscape of the men who risk their lives transporting explosive clusters of petrol through Benin on motorbikes, recreating their daily journeys through the sound of nature and African music.
La Bouche du Roi (1997-2005). Mixed media installation. The British Museum, Georges Hixson. © the artist, October Gallery | |  |
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"You can hear the beauty of the music and the beauty of nature," says Hazoumé, who has hidden speakers inside giant musical instruments made from canisters.
"The origins of jazz come from Africa. It's strange, these sounds we hear all around us – although you may not hear it as traditional music, for me these recordings are music."
Much of the exhibition is a retrospective of Hazoumé's work to date, charting the photographs, paintings and installations made in his attempts to bring the story of his country to a Western audience.
 | | Dan Ayido-Huedo, Rainbow Serpent (2007). Mixed media and found objects. © the artist, October Gallery |
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"It's about my life in Benin and trying to change things," he explains.
"We're doing well but our problem in Africa is that our leaders are all about money. They just want power, which can only hurt countries."
A selfless, funny and charismatic figurehead, Hazoumé is ebulliently positive about the message behind his work.
"We are not Western artists – this is for our community, we work for them to try and change things," he says. He's unafraid to use his growing status to realise his mission, and has set up a foundation to promote cultural change through art in Benin.
"I'm well-known now, and I have a little bit of money, so through my work I can push people to help and become more aware," he says, describing his own role as "just making a few pieces about the culture we love."
"I can look back, but I don't want to be dead as an artist, I want to continue," he laughs. "I'm just a boy who documented what's going on."
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