For many people, being confined means being confronted with oneself. When an artist finds themselves in this situation, thoughts inevitably turn to the self-portrait. From September to December 2020, Toguo was in residence at the Atelier Calder, near Saché in Indre-et-Loire, France. He was the first African artist to reside in this now-historic site, which has hosted many creators over the last thirty years. The merry-go-round of the art world (biennales, fairs, exhibitions) was brought almost to a standstill by a virus, so the globe-trotting artist that is Barthélémy Toguo, eyes wide open, an inquisitive stare fixed on his image in the mirror, set to work. Interestingly, some of these images bring to mind the last self-portrait produced by Picasso in 1972, which was said to resemble something akin to an African mask.