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Issa Nyaphaga was born in 1967 in Douala, Cameroon (central Africa) in 1967 and grew up in the small village of the Tikar tribe, called Nditam, in the very heart of Cameroon’s equatorial forest. The Tikar are primarily farmers and as a child of the fields, Issa spent his time in close contact with earth and nature. Like other Tikar children, Issa was introduced to traditional painting in his early childhood. His father is an herbalist and a calligrapher, and Issa grew up next to shaman pygmy women deep in the region of "Mbam and Kim" in Cameroon.
He was raised in a Muslim family and went to a French school- the only one in the village- where the Bible was the main teaching subject. He studied the Koran in the evenings before calling upon ancestral spirits during Animist ceremonies. Issa also experienced Buddhism. “Today I wake up every morning with a different feelings.” He said.
From 1990 to 1996, Issa was a 1a political cartoonist, illustrator and reporter in a weekly satirical newspaper, Le Messager Popoli. His opposition to the political regime in Cameroon led him to several trips to jail from 1994 to 1995. 

In 1996 he seek asylum in France.
Issa has been the subject of several documentaries focusing on his life and journey. And has illustrated and co-authored several books published in the United States, Europe and Cameroon. 

Issa has developed a unique painting technique, known as “Capillarism”, which uses human hair as a first layer on his canvas, paper, canvas or wood.
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Issa’s artwork and teaching philosophy have inspired the human spirit of thousands of people in dozens of countries. As an art therapist, Issa has conducted innovative art projects and therapeutic workshops for at-risk and highly vulnerable populations, including children with disabilities, immigrant families, teen suicide survivors, and child soldiers from Liberia and Sierra Leone in West Africa.
Issa Nyaphaga is the living proof the process of resilience through art, and he is convinced that the power of art can save lives.

As a way of remaining in contact with his native country, Mr. Nyaphaga has founded Hope International for Tikar People (HITIP,) a community-based organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for Tikar and Bedzan villagers and individuals with disabilities in the equatorial rainforest of Cameroon. www.hitip.org

Issa divides his time between Cameroon, Europe, China and the United States where he shares his works with young artists. Issa also has been working on the development of a philosophical concept called “Urban Way,” in which he paints his body like a canvas on stage with live music. 
Issa travels worldwide performing the Urban Way and built sculptures in public spaces.

Issa has been featured for "Radio Taboo", a documentary film project by Sophie Rousmaniere. Issa is returning to his small village Nditam in rural Cameroon to build a community radio station for Social Change. Mr. Nyaphag teaches art, social justice, human rights and cultural diversity at the community college in Santa Fe New Mexico in the US.

Artist Statement

My artistic endeavour is above all a proclamation of peace and against intolerance. My soul is of a body that has suffered a lot because the political cartoons in the satirical newspaper in Cameroon. I live outside a world in which I am undesirable, and I've found in my art a refuge where I can protect myself against all aggression. I came into contact with the subject at a very early age, and the artistic process gives me this force of conviction, this feeling of invincibility and the inner peace I am seeking. I'm like the pages of an open book blown by the winds of freedom.
In my studio projects, I'm painting Cartoons on canvas, with my political vision of Global Society.
But I do not seek to make sense of my art because, to me, art is like life: if we look closely there is no sense, just emotion. That is what I wish to convey. Being a person who has suffered intolerance and persecution, I would have liked to stop being a victim and live like anyone else. But the past reminds me of whom I am: an outsider. That is why my philosophy of including certain parts of my body in my art namely my hands and feet to convey my emotions for me are therapeutic. It is an act of protest, the rebellion of a man who challenges the establishment. This endeavour helps me cope with my current status as a man and a citizen of urban worlds, wandering around the globe.
Music plays an important role in this work, especially when I'm « performing ».
Welcome to the Urban Way.

Link Resources of Issa’s work

Full Online Biography
http://glasschord.com/issa-nyaphaga/

The Global Speech at the United Nation.

Radio Interview With a Local Station In Santa Fe New Mexico.
http://www.santaferadiocafe.org/shows/RC%201-31-13%201.mp3

What Do Issa Really Do? - (7 minutes video)

Issa Nyaphag’s Organization.
http://www.hitip.org/

Radio Taboo On Facebook (Current Project / thanks for Liking Us.) - See All Photos of achievements Here:
https://www.facebook.com/radiotaboofilm?ref=hl