Born in Vietnam to a French father and Vietnamese mother, Kaïdin has been living and working in Africa since her teenage years. In the early 80s, she began carving marble in Giorgio Angeli’s studio in Italy, with sculptor Isamu Noguchi. In 1985, she achieved a sculpture titled “Oblation” for St. Paul’s Cathedral in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Inspired by her life and travels in Africa, Kaïdin’s initial abstract works gradually evolved. From 1996, she devoted herself to nomadic «land art» and created installations in natural surroundings, inspired by African wild land, forests and villages. In 2000, she was awarded the Laureate for Africa in the World Expo in Hanover, with a 15-m-high sculpture themed on “Man, Nature and technology”. In 2003, commissioned by the Park Hotel Tokyo, she created “Calao Tree”, a masterpiece consisting of 800 original drawings and several brass works. In 2007, Kaïdin visited North Japan, on the trail of Matsuo Basho, and produced “in situ”, a collection of more than 50 art installations inspired by haiku poetry. She has since created many works using various materials, including bronze, marble, wood, brass and glass. Her numerous exhibitions in Europe, Africa and Japan are proof of the diversity of her creative activities.
