THE SHADOWED PEOPLE | Saïdou Dicko
Who are the Shadow People?
I am the prince who reigns in joy, by sharing and in mutual help, in spite of the obstacles of daily life. My throne is on an oil field, my people do not have access to it, and my kingdom is on an untapped farmland. I am sure and I hope (Hope) that our children will cultivate all our fields and will share the crops in the night under the trees and the sunlight.
I am the queen mother hen who was plucked by my princes and princesses. Hope (Hope) with all my heart that they will fly with my feathers.
I am the child, happy and funny, surrounded by adults haunted by their glorious past and concerned about their future, while I take advantage of the present, and I hope (Hope) to share their glorious future …
I am the capricious child with an angel face. My days are punctuated by tears, broken joys and unpaid claims. I hope that when I grow up I will look like my little sister of 2 years old who is funny, happy sharing and autonomous …
I am a human being transformed into a shadow by an artist who has had the chance to travel to several countries. He made photos in which he integrated my photos of everyday life or not. He turns my body into shadows in his photo studio which is in perpetual motion. I hope (Hope) that I will also have the chance to travel as much as my shadow.
I am the shadow that navigates a virtual world that has become so real that my reality has become virtual.
We are in a world filled with shadows surrounded by a few people. We hope that the majority of our shadows will become the people we were.
Why did we become spectators of drama that we could have avoided?
Why are we so alone in the middle of all?
I’m just a shadow, your shadow, their shadows, my shadow.
– Saïdou Dicko
Artist Bio:
Saïdou Dicko born in Burkina Faso in 1979, self-taught visual artist (photographer, videographer, installer and painter). At the age of 5, Dicko, Fulani Shepherd, learns to draw by collecting shadows of his sheep on the Sahel soils.
Naturally, the shadow is present in all of his work.
In 2005, he embarked on photography. 6 months after his photographic debut, he presents his first exhibition in the 2006 Dakar Biennial Off, where he won a prize, the first in a long series.
Through painting, photography, video or installations, Dicko transforms the representation of forms giving life to visual phenomena, to physical and psychological events of light, uniting the two extreme values that are at the heart of black and white contrast. He finds pleasure in bringing together the opposites to talk to us about equality, union, maternal love, freedom, humanity. Since then, his work has been presented at many international events (biennials, international fairs, exhibitions).
Artwork information:
Hand painted photograph, and digital Collage without retouching
75×100 cm | 3800 euros
Contact: tom@opendoors.gallery