In the previous post, we explored the symbolism behind a woven hammock on display at the 60th International Art Exhibition in Venice (running until 24th November), representing a vessel.
However, while walking through the Arsenale, you'll come across a real vessel, an actual canoe broken in two and wrapped in a Senegalese textile painted by Franco-Senegalese artist Alioune Diagne. The canoe is part of a larger installation in Senegal's debut pavilion at the Venice Biennale, titled "Bokk - Bounds." The canoe serves as a powerful symbol, reflecting on migration waves, the fractured relationships and separations migrants experience, and the future migrations that may be driven by climate change.
On the wall, a series of paintings come together to form a larger image. Diagne, born in Kaffrine, Senegal, in 1985 and trained at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Dakar, has refined a unique technique over the years.
To make his paintings, Diagne employs a pointillist-like technique, inspired by calligraphy and by the work of his grandfather, a Koranic master, and composed of hieroglyphic-like signs, that he calls "figure-abstro". Diagne invented the technique over 10 years ago (you can bet that at some point the artist will be invited to collaborate with a fashion house/brand and create a print with these symbolic elements...). The signs represent a universal language that everybody can read when they look at the paintings from a distance. For the installation in Venice Diagne painted smaller modular pieces that, when assembled, create a cohesive figurative work.
In the background of these works, an inverted version of Charles Darwin's evolutionary diagram appears as a subtle watermark. This depiction, showing the progression from man to monkey, symbolizes a regression of humanity, highlighting the artist's critique of our indifference and selfishness.
In the paintings, the artist presents a series of disconnected scenes made in different scales. They revolve around the themes of clandestine Mediterranean migrations, poverty, resource depletion and mutual dependence, which are frequently ignored by a largely indifferent world.
The paintings depict ordinary life scenes in Senegal as well as major challenges facing the world, from environmental issues to gender equality and racism. One painting, titled "I Can't Breathe", evokes the story of George Floyd and his tragic death at the ends of the police in Minneapolis in May 2020. The works also explore themes of heritage and transmission.
These more somber themes are contrasted by joyful depictions of community traditions, such as market vendors, women in bright, colorful dresses, and scenes celebrating love and togetherness. All of them are a reflection of the title of the installation - in Wolof (the most widely spoken language in Senegal) "bokk" refers indeed to what is shared or held in common, as well as family ties – and these scenes look at the unwavering search for global harmony.
The artist is particularly passionate about scenes focused on children's education, highlighting the universal need for access to schooling, art, and culture. These elements, he suggests, are essential in helping children develop their personalities, critical thinking, and free will. One scene shows children on their way to school: it is a symbolic journey toward the future, one that could take place in any country, if we could halt that regression from human to monkey and truly reconnect with our shared universal values.
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