Hako Hankson was born in 1968 in Bafang, Cameroon.
Born Gaston Hako, the self-taught artist grew up immersed in the traditions and rituals of West Cameroon. The son of a sculptor, raised in a family of notables, he drew his earliest inspirations from objects associated with initiation rites, including masks and statuettes. This visual and spiritual memory has lastingly shaped his pictorial imagination, in which the animal figure occupies a central place.
Working on large formats, Hako Hankson develops scenes where ancestral references and contemporary concerns converge. His work draws on myths, beliefs and symbolic figures inherited from African civilisations.
In 2024, he represented Cameroon in the national pavilion at the Venice Biennale. His works are held in prestigious collections, including those of the World Bank (Cameroon), the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain (France), the MACAAL, Musée d’Art Contemporain Africain Al Maaden (Morocco), the Fondation H (Madagascar), the Fondation Donwahi (Côte d’Ivoire), the Gervanne & Matthias Leridon Collection (France) and the Benetton Collection (Italy).
Hako Hankson lives and works in Douala, Cameroon.