Sénégal, Voyage Temporel, 2024

« For Malick Bodian, who left Senegal for Italy at the age of thirteen, returning to retrace the steps of his homeland takes on a very special dimension. What is this rich and singular homeland of his, whose inhabitants themselves sometimes don’t even know all its contours?

From Fouta to Casamance, the young photographer criss-crossed the country with his camera, returning first and foremost in the footsteps of his family. He met his paternal grandmother in Casamance, in the south of the country. This encounter, along with the discovery of Diola traditions, redefined his ties with Senegal. By adopting an outsider’sperspective and drawing inspiration from documentary photography, he succeeds in revealing new narratives and new points of view on intimate spaces and traditions.

Far from the clichés that draw boundaries between tradition and modernity, the exhibition delicately recounts the interweaving of ancestral lifestyles and everyday habits. To amplify the beauty of this alliance and its timeless character, Malick Bodian plays with the photographic medium, using black & white and color simultaneously. It’s hard to date these shots, which sometimes capture rare moments of traditional celebrations that might seem to have disappeared as when, by chance, the photographer stumbles upon rehearsals for the Diola initiation ceremony (boukout/leul), which only takes place every thirty, forty or even fifty years. »

Aby Gaye

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Art Direction by Simon B Morch / Scenery

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