This solo exhibition titled 'Les Contradictions de la Vie'
delves deeper into the artist's continued examination and
deconstruction of the perceptions, attitudes and ambiguities that inform
and shape the 'human condition'.
Through
this stimulating and vivid body of work, Ba attempts to decode the
question of 'How to be a better person?'. This daily quest or aspiration
challenges our perceived freedom, will and basic independence. Because,
are we ever really free when we spend our time 'walking on eggshells'?
And at the end of 'life's journey' will we conclude that we have spent
too much time 'calculating' rather than living?
In
an attempt to express these thoughts and answer these questions,
Cheikhou uses his customary powerful sculptural work and a palette of
vibrant, unapologetic colours, dynamic line work and a keen sense of
space to reveal visually the subject's value and vision. Layers of text,
geometrical studies and 'fragments of being' add an element of
ambiguity and invite the viewer to yield to a moment of introspection.
Heads
and bodies are isolated from each other, posing a question: 'Are they
seeking to be apart, or working towards a union?'. Our minds are what
make us who we are, and the depictions of heads demonstrates this, but
as skulls there is finality in our equality. The fact that one isn't
more intelligent, richer or more beautiful than the other forces us to
ask what is important in this voyage called life.
As Cheihkou Ba asks: Can you be a better man in a better suit?
Les Contradictions de la Vie
By Cheikhou Ba
14 January – 28 February 2013
The Mojo Gallery | Dubai
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