The artist

A few words about your artistic journey

Born January 22, 1979 in Dakar, I am a self-taught artist who attended the studio of Daouda Ndiaye, renowned art teacher and visual artist. Since my first exhibition in the early 2000s, I have participated in various group exhibitions in Senegal and France.

How long have you been an artist ?

Interested in drawing from elementary school, I started my artistic career since 1996.

Why did you apply for this grant ? How will the grant support you ?

All cultural events have been canceled. The Dark’art 2020 Biennial, which has been prepared for several months and which is an important source of income, has been postponed. I am affected economically by this situation and this creative residency will also allow me to progress in my creativity by experimenting with other tools and supports.

What are your concrete artistic objectives after this residency ?

After the residency, I plan to continue experimenting with other media, advance my digital presence and, if possible, prepare an international exhibition currently suspended because of the Covid-19.

His residency

What did you achieve throughout this creative residency ? What is the result (created work) ?

During the creative residency "Creativity is life" I created a work called Soppi jikkó (change of behavior) which is a handwash symbol of the fight against Covid 19 in Senegal. I made it with recycling material designed by craftsmen. Three people contributed to the creation of the artwork : a Jmetal carpenter to make the washbasin, a plumber to install the water system and myself.

How do you think these activities allow people to reflect on today’s world : regarding the COVID-19 crisis, and/or the shaping of the tomorrow ?

For Senegal, this crisis has allowed us to see the emergence of a lot of inventiveness on the part of our craftsmen, artists, and young creators.
The borders were closed, people turned to local consumption. We have seen a lot of dynamism in the informal sector which has helped to overcome the lack of certain resources.
For the post-Covid crisis period, I think that our States should help more the creators and promote local consumption.

How did you feel during the residency ? And afterwards ?

I did not encounter any difficulties during the residency. I had imagined my work and the result is even beyond my expectations. Regarding the design of the barrel by the metal carpenter : he was very ingenious and made a better product than I thought.
Working on a new support has been very beneficial for me. It allowed me to test a new technique and the use of a new working material.

His artwork

Soppi Jikkó