Africa-Press – Senegal. The Senegalese plastic artist Zulu Mbaye justified his non-participation in the Biennial of contemporary African art (Dak’Art) by the fact that this event would be in a « mimicry » not allowing not to show the « new things » that Africa has to offer the world.
“The whole world envies us this biennial. It is one of the most important artistic manifestations of the continent. If you see that I’m not taking part, it’s because I noticed an absence of meaning, an absence of content when we have new things to say and to propose to the world, » he said. in an interview with APS ahead of the celebration of his fifty-year career in October-November.
“I cannot participate in mimicry. I don’t want us to organize this biennale as we organize the biennale of Sao Paulo or Venice or elsewhere, « insisted Mbaye, asked to give the reasons for this absence since 1992, the year of his only participation in Dak ‘ Art.
Zulu Mbaye wonders “why Africa does not seek to interest the world in African art instead of making African art a mimicry of what is done elsewhere”. » That hurts me. And our intellectuals don’t help us find content that exists. Just put the words on it for it to be something original. The world needs new things. It is not by following dried up, sanitized, inanimate things that we will show these new things, ”he said.
Westerners, “when we question their trajectories, we can understand that they are at this stage, but is this our reality? “, asked the painter again, adding: “As Black Africans, what do we have to offer the world? Are we dried up and inanimate like them? We carry ideas that may interest the world, but we don’t. We are there to follow the Westerners. We do what is done in Paris, Tokyo, New York without telling ourselves that Dakar must also carry a concept. »
« Dakar doit proposer un contenu qu’on va proposer au monde, a-t-il poursuivi. Mais nous n’avons pas à nous comporter comme si nous n’avions pas de génie. Nous avons sauvé le monde artistique avec la rencontre de Picasso avec la statuette négro-africaine. Pourquoi nous nous sous-estimons ? Pourquoi nous foulons du pied notre culture ? »
Zulu Mbaye a expliqué sa non-participation au Salon national des artistes pour les mêmes raisons, soulignant que ces manifestations ont été « récupérées » par l’État devant le manque d’organisation des artistes.
« Je ne participe plus aux manifestations organisées par l’État. Parce que je trouve que l’État a récupéré les acquis que les gens de ma génération avaient eus à la suite d’âpres luttes », a-t-il indiqué.
« C’était le Salon national des artistes. C’était l’Association nationale des artistes qui organisait avec l’appui de l’État sénégalais. Le président de la République venait à l’ouverture. Depuis, les artistes sénégalais ont lâché et l’État l’a récupéré », soutenu Zulu Mbaye, estimant qu’aujourd’hui, « on ne devrait plus parle du Salon des artistes sénégalais, on devait plutôt dire +Salon du ministère de la Culture+ parce que c’est l’État l’organisateur. »
The only participation of Zulu Mbaye in a biennial of contemporary African art dates back to the first edition organized in 1992. He specified on this subject: « Since 1992, I have not participated in the biennial organized by the Senegalese State . I have always participated in biennials by organizing parallel international exhibitions. And it’s no coincidence that the press called me +father of Off+, because I was behind Dak’Art’s +Off+ with an exhibition that I organized in 1996 at Almadies. Today, when I see that in Senegal, there are +Off+ everywhere – between 300 and 400 at each edition – it is a great joy for me. »
« I didn’t fight for years to give this to the state on a silver platter. I want these achievements to remain for the artists. The day when the artists will organize themselves and resume, I will go and participate in this fair, but until it is done, I will not participate, ”he decided.
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