Exhibition Souleymane Konate

EXHIBITION: « the world of  SOUL  »

Opening  27 th avril 2023 

Exhibition from 27 th of avril  to 31 st of may 2023            

After beginning his career as a calligrapher and creating a clothing brand, Ivorian artist Souleymane Konate, also known as Soul, has now turned to a figurative pictorial practice that breaks free from classical conventions. Through his fantastical canvases, which are populated by strange and fascinating creatures, the self-taught artist reveals the sacred essence of the soul.

Soul’s hybrid characters take centre stage. They are easily recognizable by their bulging eyes, ‘cut-out’ mouths, and supple organic forms. These figures are a combination of human, animal, and plant elements, created by Soul’s boundless imagination. His inspiration comes from the richness of Bambara cosmogony, which holds that the first man was born from an acacia branch. He is also influenced by the surrealism of Bouabré, Picasso, and Dali.

The Bambara cosmogony creation myth is based on a fourfold creative principle that transforms the four elements: air, fire, water, and earth.

Bambara thought emphasises the integration of man into the cosmos and his ability to synchronise the movements of the visible and invisible. The Bambara are keen observers of sidereal movement. They consider each phase of life as symbolised in the zodiac, where the formation and organisation of the heavens and the earth are central themes.