Marvin M'toumo (born 1994, lives and works between Geneva and Paris) is an artist whose singular poetry claims to transcend academic distinctions between art, theatre, literature and fashion. He expresses his sensitivity in the fluidity of a decompartmentalized practice, where he places identities, stereotypes and archetypes at the centre of a critical poetics filled with symbols, humour and dramaturgy. He graduated from the
École Nationale Supérieure de la Villa Arson in Nice in 2016, where he created various sound performances such as
Cahr (2014), danced performances such as
Kouros (2015) and tableaux vivants such as
Farofa (2015). He also directed his first short films
La Partir (2015),
Les Fulgurances (2016), and
Ibis (2018). In addition, he works on several literary texts, including
Blé (2016),
Devoçaos (2017), and
Larmes Modèles (2019). In 2017 he joined the Fashion and Accessories Design section of the
Geneva University of Art and Design (HEAD) from which he graduated in 2019. He designed the costumes and performed at the Théâtre de l'Usine for the play
So long Lives this, and this Gives Life to Thee by
Kayije Kagame (2018) and designed the costumes for the dyptic
Sans Grace et
Avec Grace presented at the Théâtre du Grütli in Geneva and at L'Arsenic in Lausanne (2020), also directed by Kayije Kagame in collaboration with
Grace Seri. He designed a costume for the play
Showroom by Igor Cardellini and Tornas Gonzalez at the Théâtre de Vidy in Lausanne and at the festival La Bâtie in Geneva (2021). At the same time, he is a finalist for the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation's Excellence Prize (2019). He was one of the finalists at the Feslival international de mode et de photographie de Hyères at the ViIla Noailles, where he won the prestigious Chloé award with his collection Chien Fleur (2020). In 2021, he collaborated with Jean Paul Gaultier on the design of a capsule collection called "Les Marins". In 2022 he wrote, directed, set designed, performed and designed the costumes for his first play at the Théâtre de l'Usine in Geneva, entitled
Concours de larmes. The show was performed again in 2023 at the Arsenic in Lausanne and the Grütli in Geneva.
