Arébénor Basséne

The Völklingen Ironworks flooded in red light
Copyright: Weltkulturerbe Völklinger Hütte | Oliver Dietze

born 1974 in Senegal
lives and works in Dakar, Senegal

Web presence

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arebenor_bassene/

A Deep Sahelian Paradise

Date
2024, in situ

Mixed Media on paper

Description

Arébénor Basséne’s artistic practice imaginary witnesses to the past. He uses various materials such as paper, gum Arabic, ink used for Koranic tablets, fouden (henna), wood residues, and natural pigments from the Dakar region. Inspired by ancient scripts, children’s scribbles, street graffiti, and rock carvings, his works are filled with illegible signs and shapes. Basséne invites viewers to take on the roles of historian, archaeologist, psychoanalyst, and scientist, encouraging them to interpret these visual archives in various ways and transform them into objects of study. His pieces create a spatial and temporal confusion, shifting the viewer’s gaze from one element to another—microscopic views of earthly materials morph into macrolandscapes of geographical zones, relief maps, deltas, desert dunes, and river courses. Incorporating these diverse materials, his monumental canvas, A Deep Sahelian Paradise, created especially for THE TRUE SIZE OF AFRICA, comprises a utopian cartography equally spanning the past, present, and future.

Exhibitions