Galerie Cécile Fakhoury is pleased to present Kings of the new cities, the first personal exhibition by the Kassou Seydou in Abidjan.
The artist consciousness is filled with references, symbols, esoteric signs, animals, spirits and fetishes. Stemming from his early childhood and frequent stays in Casamance, this mystical aspect inspired his reflection and gaze on society. Deeply connected to the land and his origins, Kassou Seydou’s approach puts nature and more specifically agriculture at the heart of a harmonious functioning of society. Source of dissatisfaction, frustration, and conflict, the process of resources depletion and the growing structural inequalities are recurrent observations. To Kassou Seydou’s mind, it is critical to put humans and nature at the core of our concerns, and economy at their service. Caring for the land, sharing, and equity are values he advocates for in each of his pieces.
Through the 13 canvases presented in this exhibition, we are immersed in the artist’s allegorical and expressive world. The tensions and alterations we find in his characters suggest a critique of society, while the attributes, emblems, and representations of various fetishes attest to a strong faith in humanity and its traditions.
