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Rising star of African art hits on colonialism, tyranny and beauty of black
Omar Ba starts most of his works by getting down on his hands and knees. Then the renowned Senegalese artist begins to paint a five-metre-long canvas a deep, dark shade of black.
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Contemporary Senegalese artist, Omar Ba, poses for a portrait at his workshop in Sangalkam on May 09, 2022. (AFP/John Wessels)
I
n a serene studio filled with birdsong, Omar Ba takes off his shoes and gets down on his hands and knees. Then the renowned Senegalese artist begins to paint a five-metre-long canvas a deep, dark shade of black.
This is how Ba, a rising star in the world of contemporary African art, starts most of his works, which question the state of the world and Africa’s place in it.
"On black backgrounds, I feel that the drawing will be much more readable and clear for me," he said from his airy workspace at the end of a pathway strewn with shells from the nearby Lac Rose.
"I feel in perfect union with what I am doing because I find myself in front of this colour, which I find noble and magnificent."
Ba, 45, is a top sensation at the 14th Dakar Biennale, which opened Thursday. His work touches on colonialism, violence, but also hope.
"We see the colour white as the neutral colour, the pure colour, the innocent colour," he said. "Black is always associated with what is dirty, what is dark ... and that can affect the person who lives these cliches."
Enigmatic, hallucinatory, poetic
