Initially an engineer, Souleymane Bachir Diaw is trained to understand theories and laws in order to build methods and models that allow to understand, imagine and interact with the world.
By touching photography, he understood more and more that the laws and theories are mainly the result of observation and interpretation.
So he considers our ecosystems as processes of construction and deconstruction. He is therefore increasingly interested in the process behind cultural production, which is often the underlying structure of all other forms of human production.
"Who decides? How is it designed and especially why in this way?" are therefore the main questions he tries to answer in his approach.
His main focus is the personal and collective adventures in the fascinating complexity of their connections.
His work is a way of learning to be easy with complexity by (re)presenting the experience of life in our time but also the influences and reading of the roles that individuals and collectives have played. From there, his practice conveys emotions and nuances about what we call reality. From there, his practice conveys emotions and nuances about what we call reality.
He is therefore a fine art photographer but mostly a cultural producer whose approach also includes a reflexion on how the works are shared and discussed. It is the different possible perspectives that interest him the most.
Although he began with photography, his work is increasingly expanding into various media such as video and installation. It is above all a dynamic act of intention, observation, creation, learning and sharing.
He is also a member of Atelier Ndokette, an art collective. Founded between Dakar and Paris in 2018, the collective began as a place for conversation and questioning. It is actually a cultural laboratory that interacts with the business and design ecosystems.
Curriculum Vitae
Group exhibitions
2020 -- Corona Call, Sana Sanaa Studio, Berlin, Germany
2020 -- Black Art Matter, Photo Schweiz Photo Festival, Zurich, Switzerland
2020 -- Transition, Rotterdam Foto Festival - Rotterdam, The Netherlands
2019 -- Still Rising, Rafiki Arts Initiative - Oslo, Norway
2019 -- Group exhibition at La Terrasse - Paris, France
Awards
2020 -- Prix de la photographie (PX3), Honorable mention
Editorials and publications