With its vibrant melange of colour, textures and light, this artist’s work urges us to live loud. Paris-based Burkinabé mixed-media artist Saïdou Dicko has been keeping very busy with a number of projects over the last few years. His work was exhibited in a hugely successful solo show with Contour Gallery in Rotterdam, as well as shows in Brussels, Berlin, Geneva, and New York. Now he can also add a collaboration with Art Fix to that list. This summer, he partnered with Art Fix to produce a limited edition print, ‘Pay Bas, Chanel Bag, Act II’.
As a boy, Saïdou was raised a shepherd in the northern region of Burkina Faso and learnt to draw from tracing the shadows of the landscape in which he grew up. In his twenties, he began experimenting with photography and later incorporated it into his paintings, but his artworks have always stayed true to an uncomplicated vision. Exploring themes like childhood, innocence and humanity, his approach to art also reflects that in its simplicity.
All of the works in this series depict the idea of ‘play’, showing the creativity of an innocent child’s mind. From the ‘Neke’ sandals to the orange jersey that represents Pays Bas (nevermind that it says Real Madrid), we get a sense of childlike pretence. The works are named after the things that the children aspire to have one day, be they a fancy handbag or a business class seat on a luxury airline… Because we all know the intense feeling of longing for something so deeply as a child.
Part of what makes Saïdou’s exploration of these themes so alluring is the anonymity of his subjects – the children are depicted as shadows, interchangeable with any person, reducing the distance that is imposed by a sense of the ‘Other’. At the same time, the one-dimensionality of the figure seems to represent how ‘African’ identity can tend to be flattened and represented as a monolith in the West. The vibrance of the textile background serves to remind us how humanity is enriched by a diversity of cultural identities.
The devil is in the details! Have you noticed the cross that hovers in some of Saïdou’s art? This symbol is an emblem that is often seen in traditional Fulani textiles – he incorporates it into his works as an homage to the time-honoured traditions of craftsmanship in Fulani communities and their resilience in the face of industrialisation. However, Saïdou’s outlook on modernity is far from cynical.
As we see in ‘Pays Bas, Chanel Bag, Act II’, the artist often chooses to juxtapose plastic objects with traditional fabrics. In the West, we tend to disparage the use of plastic, but Saïdou prefers to celebrate the creativity with which his community finds ways it can repurpose plastic for the needs they have. In showing the two materials together, his work celebrates both modes of artistic expression that are seen in Fulani culture without placing tradition and modernity in conflict with one another.
We asked the artist some this-or-that questions about his work…
RAPID FIRE ROUND
What’s in the bucket?
Everyone has to guess, as this is part of the mystery of the work.
Favourite colour combination?
I like all colours, with a slight preference for yellow.
Where would you be happiest to see your work?
Like all artists, in a museum.
Plastic or textiles?
Both
Beach bliss or snowy alps?
The sunny beach.
You can build a studio anywhere in the world – where is it?
My current atelier, where I work late at night at home next to the Eiffel Tower! Plus, I’m lucky enough to have a nomadic studio, as I can work anywhere in the world when I travel.
3 studio essentials?
A brush, ink and some paper.
Orders from Art Fix’s launch are being packed as we speak!
Saïdou strongly believes in helping each other and young people who are struggling. For this edition, all of his portion of the proceeds will be directed towards two organisations: Rotterdam-based Stem zonder gezicht and Nafoore Cellal in Burkina Faso, which has worked to provide healthcare in the area as well an organic vegetable garden that employs locals.
Thank you so much to Saïdou Dicko and Contour Gallery for this collaboration.
