Emerging from a bold cacophony of found objects, plant matter and dripping paint, an uneasy portrait gazes out at the viewer, dominating the composition of Diop’s Le Métisse Parisien. In a style that is characteristically monumental, Diop allows space to take on an active and oscillating presence in his work. As the gaunt central figure strolls through a cluttered metropolis, the detritus that comprises the composition also evidences the physical spaces they were sourced from. Diop’s process of collecting materials found on long walks through the abandoned spaces of Vienna and Paris, thus occupies a central theme in the work. The repurposed materials take on an animation that allows the imagined spaces and figures to transcend into an immediate reality.
Often referring to his works as ‘image-objects’, Diop seeks to convey the existential and physical chaos that is commonplace in our modern cities.i The artist’s lived experience as the son of a Senegalese immigrant, born in Paris, informs the violence and unrest that permeates through his work. As the work’s title translates to The Mixed-race Parisian, visions of Paris’ Banlieue are conjured, the vibrancy of the African Diaspora thrumming in ghetto-like tower blocks, condensed into the materials that are masterfully reworked by the artist.
Le Métisse Parisien was conceived as part of an exhibition entitled La Prochaine Fois, Le Feu, the culmination of Diop’s mentorship by Kehinde Wiley for the Mentor and Young Talent Reiffers Art Initiatives in 2022. Executed in just two months, the array of large-scale works that were juxtaposed to Wiley’s, demonstrated Diop’s ability for rapid creation that prioritises action over second guessing and self-doubt. Diop additionally held the coveted artist-in-residence position at The Rubell Museum, Miami in 2022, which boasts notable alumni including Kennedy Yanko (2021) and Amoako Boafo (2019).
