Art for sale
Catalogue of paintings for sale for Bifae Education in The Netherlands
Joachim Mbiywong Jumafer (alias: Rass Mbiywong), Bamenda Cameroon
Click here to download the catalogue
Mbiywong Joachim Jumafir is a painter as well as a musician, currently working and living in Bamenda in the North West Region of the republic of Cameroon. He was born in Shisong-Kumbo, three hours North of Bamenda on the 15th of August 1969 from the family of Mr/Mrs Mbiywong Joseph.
His aspiration for painting started from early childhood, already throughout his primary education that started in 1975 at the Sacred Heart School in Shisong and was completed at St. Charles Robui (1983). In his own room at home little Joachim first started to paint on wood. Later he discovered that the empty floor bags his parents bought were made of cloth and were much better to paint on. So he cut them and framed them with wood and made his first “real paintings”.
After his primary school Joachim did a nine months course at Francis Art and then opened his own workshop in Kumbo as a youth. Later he moved to Bamenda, the capital of the North West region of Cameroon. There he had his own atelier in Ghana Street and continued to study art. He attended a two years course with Reverend Father Perino and later went to the Makon Institute of Arts for four years. Joachim graduated in the year 1998 with a Proficiency Diploma of Fine Arts at the Catholic University of Bamenda, signed by the provincial delegate of Culture. Joachim attends meetings and exhibitions with other artists.
Joachim paints and sells his art mostly from his atelier in Ghana Street, Bamenda to private persons from Cameroon and abroad. In his paintings he is very much inspired by the ancient culture of his people. Various elements and symbols in his art refer to the art of the 14th Century Kingdom of the Nso around Kumbo in which Joachim was raised. Besides Joachim is also a very good painter of portraits.
Due to the economic deprived situation in his homeland it is becoming more and more difficult to sell his paintings. Joachim also plays the xylophone and guitar, builds speakers, carves stamps, makes badges and prints T-shirts to make a living. In recent years Joachim was commissioned for various fresco’s in churches, among which Sacred Heart church in Shisong (1999, renovated in 2010) and St. Francis of Padua’s church in Mbuluf (2014). Joachim is married to Fonyuy Felicia Yemai and has four children: Jumafer Cecilia Suci (23), Jumafer Vivian Fomonyuy (18) Jumafer Mbiywong Sa’nyuy (14) & Jumafer Mbiydzenyuy Nsernyuy (11).
Works on sale for Bifae
Some of Joachim’s paintings can be purchased through his friend Marnix de Vriend in Nijmegen (marnix@aquaemarnix.com; ++31 6 53109260). Prices vary from € 75,00 till € 1.500,00. All these paintings are presented below with:
• Name of the painting;
• Size in millimetre;
• Year in which it was painted;
• Minimum price in Euro’s;
• Location where the pictures are at present.
The paintings that are at present in Cameroon will be transported without frame and will be delivered without frame/ list. The ones now in Nijmegen all have a new frame, have been cleaned and have a means to attach them to a wall. Some have a list.
A few of the paintings are already sold. If so, the owner is indicated.
Profits go for 75% to Joachim minus 25% which is for the NGO Bifae Education in Nijmegen, The Netherlands and Shisong, Cameroon. The Bifae Education board consists of Christian Lenjo (secretary), Eugene Lensimo (member) and Marnix de Vriend (president). It is a non profit (ANBI recognized by the Dutch government) organisation aimed at community development in the rural areas around Shisong/ Kumbo by assisting deprived schools in various ways. Since 2006 Bifae has been offering scholarships (as from September 2015 this concerns 4 x 5 = 20 children) and various projects such as water, furniture, medical aid and building of class rooms. At the moment that are four schools participating: Kingomen Government School, Islamic Primary School Kingomen, Tabah Primary Government School and Mbuluf Primary Government School.
All the paintings are collected in a catalogue. A selection of those can be seen below. For the full catalogue, which contains over fifty paintings, click here to download
1: Animal Kingdom
Size: 1000 x 800 mm |
2: Festival
Size: 1000 x 800 mm |
3: The Explosive Age
Size: 800 x 515 mm |
4: Nso collage
Size: 1480 x 1100 mm |
5: Rural women in action
Size: 800 x 600 mm |
6: Third World Bank 4
Size: 1000 x 800 mm |
7: Caring of rural women
Size: 1450 x 1550 mm |
8: Royalty
Size: 550 x 750 mm |
9: Men behind bars
Size: 1000 x 795 mm |
10: Wisdom of the Old
Size: ca. 550 x 750 mm |
11: Origin of Life
Size: 530 x 710 mm |
12: The Summit
Size: 570 x 690 mm |