With a practice deeply informed by a faculty of observation, visual artist Théodore Diouf has produced large bodies of work evocative of human relationships to nature. Attending various technical and art schools, namely the École des Arts de Dakar in the early 1970s, Diouf acquired several skills in notable disciplines such as sculpture and painting, consolidating the foundations for his artistic journey. These skills evolved through time into an abstract and poetic visual language reflective of the artist’s immediate and home environment. According to Sereer’s oral accounts and cosmogony, the world originates from a supreme being named Roog (or Koox in Cangin languages), and its creation is inextricably linked to that of the swamp within which the first trees grew. Symbols of growth and fertility, trees amongst the Sereer (and several other communities) are considered living entities equal to human beings and our connection to them and nature, by extension, plays a crucial role in our understanding of humanity. Realized primarily on canvas and paper, using paint and pastel, Diouf’s works portray the vivid beauty and essence of Senegalese flora. Symbols such as that of the snake, representative of pangool (saints and ancestral spirits), recur in some of his paintings, highlighting the artist’s roots in African cosmogonies, particularly that of the Sereer. Conscious of preconceived stereotypes surrounding African arts, Diouf’s works on occasion reflect a dynamic interplay of heritage and innovation, in which traditional motifs, symbolism, and techniques found within mask-making, sculpture, and textiles are reinterpreted and merged with modernist aesthetics, abstraction, and political narratives, creating a dialogue between past and present.

WORKS IN THE EXHIBITION:

In chronological order: Untitled (1976–80), gouache on paper, 25 × 15.5 cm; Mouvement II (1980–86), gouache on paper, 65 × 50 cm; Untitled (1980–90), ink and acrylic on paper, 63 × 37 cm; Le Papillon (1984), gouache on paper, 21 × 29.5 cm; Vision double (1984), gouache on paper, 50 × 65 cm; Untitled (1985), gouache on paper, 65 × 50 cm; Untitled (1985), gouache on paper, 24 × 33 cm; Untitled (1985), engraving on paper, 24.5 × 16 cm; Untitled (1986), watercolour on paper, 29.4 × 41.4 cm; Untitled (1986), watercolour on paper, 28.4 × 39.5 cm; Untitled (2023), acrylic and gouache on paper, 42 × 29.5 cm. All courtesy of OH Gallery. Participation in São Paulo supported by Pro Helvetia