Emile Guebehi was a self-taught artist who worked a series of manual labor jobs around Nigeria before becoming a sculptor.
In his thirties, he returned to his native village of Nekede where a local healer convinced him to focus on creating art, and even commissioned a wooden figurine for use in his consultations.
The Ebrié Lagoon commissioned art for age-grade ceremonies, dance groups, and for families organizing gold displays,[5] and the "Feast of Generations".
He was one of the first Ivorian artists who modernized Ebrié Lagoon anthropomorphic sculptures to more realistic portrayals of unclothed African women.
[7] They often collaborated in creating large mulitcolored scenes representing the characters, animals, objects related to the daily life, the history of the population, the origin of the Ebriés and their initiation rites.