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Without filiation, networks or formal training, Alioune Diagne is a self-made man. "Perceptions", his first exhibition in Paris, showcases the "figuro-abstro" style of this 34-year-old Franco-Senegalese artist-painter, who sails between Dakar and Villeurbanne, the figurative and abstraction, the history and his emotions. Interview.
RFI : Is perception at the heart of your work ?
Alioune Diagne : Yes, we can say it. My perception is my technique of painting that I call the "figuro-abstro". It is from this point of view that I create my paintings.
What is your definition of " figuro-abstro " ?
In 2013, following events in my life [ the death of his grandfather, Koranic teacher, in charge of the calligraphy reproduction of the Koran, Ed ], I said to myself: why not do something that is my universe why not build figurative images from abstract elements? So, the "figuro-abstro" is just a construction of figurative images from abstract elements, signs.
How does one become a painter when one was born in Fatick, a city of 25,000 inhabitants in Senegal ?
It was very complicated. I fought for it because I knew there was something in me since I was very small. From the age of 13, I was just drawing. But at first, my mother did not want me to become a painter. I did not know anyone in the painting. It was complicated to enter the network. So, I fought. I went to Kaffrine to join my father, whom I did not know, because I was very young when my parents divorced. Afterwards, I went to join my mother in Dakar. In 2010, an opportunity arose to settle in France.
What triggered your decision to leave in 2010 in France ?
Since 2008, I was at the School of Fine Arts in Dakar. It was a difficult time, because there were a lot of strikes. I wanted to improve my technicality. Since my wife was French, I built a project for France. Once arrived, I chained with my studies. I perfected myself, with private lessons with professors of the fine arts of Lyon. I moved to Vienna, in Isère, and said to myself: what am I going to do with all this? Everything has already been done. So, I wanted to create my own universe.
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In your paintings, one could simply see thousands of signs, but also calligraphy, pointillism, blurred photographs as in the German painter Gerhard Richter. What are your models in the history of painting ?
I have learned and seen a lot, but I do not have a master. I've always been very curious, watched all the artists, both Leonardo da Vinci and Picasso , but I wanted to get something out of me. Thus, you see a lot of details on the paintings, thousands of signs, that's what gives the "figuro-abstro". We can not define it. Some speak of pointillism, others of arabesques or Ethiopian writings ... A lot of people find themselves there, each in their own way and with their own conception of art. All of this together gives the "figuro-abstro". It's a kind of universal language where everyone can navigate.
View of "Cayor and Fulani women" and "Young Peulhes Senegalese", Alioune Diagne, in the exhibition "Perceptions".
© Siegfried Forster / RFI"Cayor and Fulani women" (detail), Alioune Diagne, in the exhibition "Perceptions".
© Siegfried Forster / RFI
Among the major themes in your paintings, there is childhood, market scenes, chiaroscuro and memory. Is it the memory of your personal history, of Senegalese history ?
This memory also speaks of the life of our ancestors. There are scenes from the 1800s with images that I found from that time. When I saw them, I was shocked, because I realized that we do not have images of our past. And with my technique, my point of view, with my colors, I give in a contemporary way life to this story of our ancestors. Because we have few images and few archives.
There [ Cayor and Fulani women, Ed ], you see a Fulani man, with his two wives and a baby in his arms. It's about accessories, how to behave, how to dress, braids, the Fulani culture in Senegal. I was working on old images of 1800, black and white images. All the colors you see here is my composition, made in a natural, spontaneous way. With the "figuro-abstro", everything is free and expresses my emotions.
You sail between France and Senegal, Villeurbanne and Dakar. Does this influence your creation ?
I go back and forth to find this inspiration and this Senegalese atmosphere where I hear the sound of sheep and cars that make me want to work. In my studio, I recreated my own moods in Senegal.
Your painting Les trois Sénégalaises could be interpreted as an allusion to digital art ... What is your relationship with the digital arts ?
I like to touch everything: video, sculpture, painting, photography, serigraphy. I live with the arts in a natural way. When I get up in the morning and want to make video, I do it and find ways to do it. There are no barriers. Even my clothes that I wear are drawn from my paintings.
This is your first exhibition in Paris. What is the reception of your works in Senegal ?
What surprised me most was how they reacted to my technique. At first, most people followed me on my social networks: " Wow , we're proud of you ". So, I said to myself: something is happening, I should go back to Senegal to show my paintings. Recently, there was an exhibition in homage to Fatmah Charfi at the National Art Gallery in Dakar where a painting of me was also presented. There were people who came just to see a single painting of me. Many were surprised to discover my technique. Since this exhibition, I have a lot of support from Senegal.
View of "The three Senegalese women", Alioune Diagne, in the exhibition "Perceptions".
© Siegfried Forster / RFI"The three Senegalese women" (detail), Alioune Diagne, in the exhibition "Perceptions".
© Siegfried Forster / RFI
► Alioune Diagne : Perceptions , exhibition in the gallery 80 rue de Turenne, 75003 Paris, from October 29 to November 29.