The Exhibition
Experiencing Black Living Through the Visual Arts.
Ousmane Sow powerful gigantic figurative sculptural works in this show, represents works inspired by people from Nuba – South Sudan, Maasai Kenya, Zulu South Africa, and Fulani communities.They were all modelled through the use of African clay, and crafted with straw and rubber. Shown in many international exhibitions, he was elected a member of France Academy des Beaux-Arts in 2013.
His vision and ideas, visible in the works, relate deeply to to the struggles of the weak verses the strong. “I love telling stories”, confesses Ousmane Sow. But far from evoking any anecdote, his figures, like the powerful Buveur de Sang [Blood drinker] and Buffle [Buffalo] belong to the Masai – a black double of the Cretan bull – these are black gods in action. Spiritual bodies. Souls reconstituted from waste flesh. Mud, metal and straw Golems, bodies innervated with life, warriors of the tropical night which may occasionally play the part of wine-rack scarecrow.
Sculpture in Africa began with the ancient Egyptian dynasties. The huge structures were embodiment for the spiritual, cultural, and social values of the various communities. In terms of aesthetics, the sculptural works symbolised rituals, ceremonies, ancestral traditions, and identity.
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The Artist
Ousmane Sow was born in 1935, Dakar, Senegal, West Africa. Considered to be one of the great 20th century sculptor, his most popular works are larger than life, muscular bodies of people.He began the journey into the Fine Arts modelling stones on the beach in Dakar. His first exhibition was in 1960, during Senegal independence celebrations from France.
After studying in France, in 1956 he began working as physiotherapist. A practice which informed many areas of his art. He lived and worked between Senegal and France for many years, until 1978, when he decided to live in France permanently. He started his art practice in Figurative Fine Art Sculptor. Although well known inside artistic circles, the general public outside France, are not fullyaware of his many major accomplishments, and hope this online review may assist to bring this major force to the Global African Village.
“Sculpting for him becomes a caress. One should see him in his workshop-courtyard in the full Dakar sunlight, slowly kneading a strange unctuous paste between his large brown chiseled hands, a heavyish promethean half-chocolate clay, which he applies with daubed cloths onto a metal framework covered with synthetic straw.” www.ousmanesos.com
