Saïdou Dicko

Saïdou Dicko (b. Burkina Faso, 1979) is a self-taught multimedia artist who started drawing from an early age, when he was still a shepherd in the Shahel, by outlining the shadows of animals and plants on the ground.

His work in the photographic series “Shadowed People” assembles different local patterns, settings, and objects from his homeland culture, inserting human figures as shadows in heavy black paint. In this pictorial exercise, Dicko provides with a universal perspective on matters of equality, conciliation, freedom, identity, or humanity with a unique poetry that also entails some whimsical mystery.

The works are also marked with a detail in red and black that hints to the traditional Fula fabrics’ patterns. Saïdou Dicko has participated in numerous exhibitions, biennials and art fairs in France, Morocco, Germany, Brazil, USA, Portugal, Mali, South Africa, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Italy, Senegal, among others.