METAMORPHOSIS

Papa Samba Ndiaye questions the evolution of beauty criteria through the makeup and braids of African women and more particularly Fulani women. The ethnological scarifications long practiced by certain African tribes to signify the transition from childhood to adulthood are disappearing and giving way to superpositions of several layers and palettes of makeup. Globalization and robotization are transforming African women.

The artist notices a loss of value which manifests itself in his paintings by a pixelation of the image of the woman, an effect of dispersion, of explosion of pixels. Each pixel plate alludes to the loss of cultural values and social disorder. The artist focuses on “the revaluation of everything that loses its value in order to start again with oneself”. He becomes the master builder of a Kintsugi of exploded pixels which transforms into beauty and repairs the social order. The scars are sublimated, they show us how far we have come.

PAPA SAMBA NDIAYE “ BEUZ”

Papa Samba Ndiaye, known as Beuz, is a Senegalese visual artist. Born in Gabon, he returned to Dakar at the age of 4, where he grew up without his father. As the youngest of his siblings, he developed a strong bond with his mother, Khady, who became his first muse when he joined the National School of Arts of Senegal.

Women—guardians of memory, rituals, and traditional knowledge—quickly became his primary subject of exploration. He questions the evolution of beauty standards through makeup and braiding practices. Ethnological scarifications, once used by African tribes to mark the transition from childhood to adulthood, are fading away, replaced by layers of skin and cosmetic makeup.

Beuz observes a loss of values. A low-resolution image, pixelated and devalued, serves as an allegory of his artistic approach. Each pixel plate references the erosion of cultural values and the disruption of social order. The rise of technology is a major source of inspiration that has deeply influenced both his techniques and his artistic gaze.

“Revaluing everything that loses its worth in order to reconnect with oneself” is at the core of his preferred themes. His artistic process reflects a tireless pursuit of visual research, revealing different aspects of contemporary expression such as modern reconstruction, artificial intelligence, deculturalization, and more.

He intervenes directly on pixelated plates, playing with their appearance, shape, and size to arrange them at will, thus contributing symbolically to the reordering of society.

Background

Holding a Master's degree in English from Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar, Papa Samba Ndiaye is also a graduate of the National School of Arts of Senegal. He worked as a visual arts teacher at the CEMT Hamilcar Cabral school in Ziguinchor.

A cultural trainer and English instructor, he founded the English Club at Lycée Moderne de Dakar (Ly.Mo.Dak.).He has participated in higher education programs through incubation initiatives and artist residencies.

As a project management consultant and collaborator, he is a member of the YALI Network (Young African Leaders Initiative, funded by the U.S. government), the manager of Give1 Art, and is in charge of the visual arts platform in southern Senegal.

Papa Samba Ndiaye has exhibited both nationally and internationally. In September 2015, he won the "Five Years Painting" award in Washington, D.C., organized by Give1 Project, created by Thione Niang.He took part in group exhibitions in Saint-Louis, at Quai Henry Jay, Île du Sud, during the 12th edition of the Dakar Biennale in 2016 and again in 2017.

More recently, he was selected for the official "IN" program of the 13th edition of the Dakar Biennale in 2018 at the Senegal Pavilion. In 2019, he was among the winners of the 10th edition of the Senegal National Visual Arts Salon, selected as one of 47 artists from across the country’s 14 regions.