Until 30 April, Contour Gallery in Rotterdam presents a solo exhibition by Saïdou Dicko with work from his recent series 'The shadowed people', which was also presented at Art Rotterdam recently.
Dicko's works are instantly recognisable because of the inky black silhouettes in otherwise colourful and lively images. The deep, black shadows that Dicko applies to his photos might strip the depicted persons of their individual identity to some extent, but at the same time it imbues them with a universal quality. In fact, they are only becoming more visible and more equal. Central to his work are a universal and playful youthfulness and childlike innocence, but also motherhood.
The main characters in Dicko's photographs are enhanced by the striking backgrounds against which they stand out. Colourful fabrics and a recurring symbol: a geometric cross on top of the heads of his characters. It is a symbol that the artist often saw in the traditional Fulani rugs of his youth. For Dicko, it is an ode to the age-old traditional techniques of Burkina Faso, which are slowly becoming extinct due to automation processes. The colourful fabrics also refer to the rich tradition of studio photography that marks the photographic traditions of various African countries.
The multidisciplinary and versatile artist makes use of photography, painting, video and installation. Photography in particular occupies a central place in his practice, but Dicko himself doesn't necessarily see it that way. In an interview with Postdigitale Fotokunst he states: “I insist that I am not a photographer, but I like to use photography in the work process. I have always used a camera. However, I don’t define myself as a photographer, but instead as a sculptor or image designer that works or paint with a camera.” The photos that Dickou takes are not extensively edited in terms of colour or contrast, but he often superimposes several photos to achieve the desired effect.
When Dicko first exhibited his work at the Dak'Art Off Biennale in 2006, he won a Blachère Foundation Prize, a prize for promising new artists. Dicko was born in 1979 but only started a career as an artist in 2005, at the age of twenty-six. He is self-taught and already showed an interest in drawing as a child. At the age of five, Dicko helped his family herd sheep. He was fascinated by shadows, which he recorded with a stick in the red soil of the Sahel. He continued to draw on the walls of his house and on the colourful fabrics that his mother embroidered.
Today the artist lives and works in Paris. In 2012 he co-founded Rendez-Vous d'Artistes, an artists' collective for curators, gallerists, lovers of art and art journalists. In addition to the Blachère Foundation Prize, Dickou also received the Prix de la Francophonie at Rencontres de Bamako, the Fondation Thamgidi prize and the Off prize of the EU.
The exhibition 'The shadowed people' will be on view at Contour Gallery in Rotterdam until 30 April.