Clément and Marguerite came together to make Aya and published the first volume in 2005 to financial and critical success. He found much more work when he moved back to France, as he became a digital illustrator for more than 40 children’s books, a graphic talent behind a number of animated TV shows, and the co-founder of La Station animation studio and Autochenille Productions. He was also responsible for creating a number of children’s books after living in the United States for two years. – Zach LisnerĬlément Oubrerie, the illustrator of Aya and husband of Marguerite Abouet, was born in Paris in 1966. The comic won the Angoulême International Comics Festival in 2006 for its noteworthy art forms along with dialogue and story arc. Further, the Ivory Coast just attained its independence from France and was enjoying “a new middle-class society.” (Abouet, Marguerite 1971 – ) While in France Abouet teamed up with her husband Clément Oubrerie to illustrate her memories and bring them to life. With the area’s economic rise, the Abidjan Stock Exchange was founded which created business appeal for the city. (Ivory Coast – History) The town of Abidjan in particular during the 1970s built several educational centers such as the Abidjan Institute of Criminology and International Community School of Abidjan. The Ivory Coast, in the 1970’s, was on an economic uptick with a record rise in GDP and no coups (unlike the rest of the surrounding nations). Abouet witnessed the rise of African comics during the early 2000s as they started to cover “current affairs or fragments of everyday experience, or took the form of dramatic and fantastic creations.” (African Wave) She believed comics would be the perfect medium for retelling childhood memories.
One reason why Abouet created comics was in response to the pushback she received from the publishing world when she attempted to write novels.
The accounts depicted African culture through the light of her childhood experiences. The adventures throughout the story were based on her own experiences and stories she heard. In Aya, Abouet recreated memories and the characters were her friends. To her, Abidjan was a beautiful land full of culture and stories passed down, generationally. For Abouet the depiction of her home in writing/media betrayed her childhood memory. It chronicled her life from birth to age twelve. Even though she stated her works specifically on Aya wasn’t autobiographical, the story was based on her upbringing in Western Africa.
Marguerite Abouet was born in 1971 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast – Western Africa. Right: Marguerite Abouet Left: Clément Oubrerie
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