Makhtar (Baye) Ndiaga DIOUF’s painting mirrors the man himself. He seems to have stepped straight out of one of his own works. Like many of his figures and compositions, he is tall and slender, enigmatic, not easily deciphered — colorful both inside and out — and far more philosophical and wise than he allows to appear. Born in Dakar in 1991, he spent his early years in a village near Thiadiaye, at the heart of Serer country. Drawn from childhood to art, painting, drawing, and every form of expression, he entered the École des Beaux-Arts in Dakar, where he studied effortlessly from 2013 to 2016. He experimented with woodworking and design, but painting ultimately became his true language. Only painting allows him to express the richness of a personality that seems reserved on the surface, yet conceals a fascinating inner complexity — something one can only perceive through his work.

The artist quickly rose through what we call the stages of “success” in art: exhibitions in Senegal and abroad, residencies, glowing reviews. He could easily have continued along that comfortable path. But that would be to overlook his spiritual depth — a dimension that goes far beyond the kind of stylized “folklore” many young artists of his generation adopt when seeking to assert an identity. Two distinct forces coexist within him: a revolt against society and its excesses — its cruelty, its jealousies both real and imagined — and a contemplative spirituality that almost contradicts that rebellion. Having grown up away from the city, in a family environment where animist mysticism still holds power and meaning, blending harmoniously with revealed religions, he has forged a world in balance between these opposing forces — a synthesis whose secret and depth he alone understands.

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We await with great curiosity his encounter with a thaumaturge from across the ocean — an artist with his own myths and methods for capturing and transforming them into works of art. Let us wager that this dialogue will be fruitful, for all that rises, converges.

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The deeper layers of Senegal still know and practice, in their own way, a form of universal shamanism made of signs and symbols — one that requires initiation and an ongoing, fertile dialogue with those who preceded us in the march of time. The body and soul often serve as battlegrounds for antagonistic and negative spirits, and learning to recognize and confront them comes through genuine knowledge — whether inherited from others or forged through life’s experiences, however painful they may be.

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All of this — and much more — resonates through Makhtar Ndiaga Diouf’s captivating work, which carries its message far beyond the visible, into the realm of the felt and the unseen.

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Sylvain Sankalé, Writer, Art critic