Senegalese painter Omar Ba begins to paint a five-meter-long canvas a deep, dark shade of black. This is how Ba, a rising star in the world of contemporary African art, begins most of his works, which question the state of the world and Africa’s place in it.
After exhibiting at an array of important galleries and museums around the world, Ba’s work is on display in his home country, at the 14th Dakar Biennale, which opened Thursday.
“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, where 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.”
*The views of the above article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Africa Speaks 4 Africa or its editorial team.