For Frieze London 2025, Galerie Atiss Dakar presents an immersive exploration of Serigne Mbaye Camara’s work, a Senegalese artist who transforms materials into powerful narratives. Based in Dakar, he has played a key role in the local art scene and infl uenced new generations, particularly through his involvement in the Dakar Biennale.

The presentation highlights his artistic evolution through sculptures and drawings, revealing a visual language shaped by experimentation and symbolism. Drawing inspiration from his intimate self and inner spirituality, Camara redefi nes material use by integrating found objects, raw textures, and organic forms from Senegalese daily life. Driftwood, recycled textiles, and salvaged elements challenge conventional aesthetics, exploring contrasts between permanence and impermanence, industry and nature. A recurring fi ctional wooden fi gure serves as a poetic thread, refl ecting on the resilience of matter and its transformation into objects bearing meaning and emotion.

This exhibition underscores his commitment to materiality as artistic expression and questions the relationship between art, context, and environment. Visitors are invited to consider the poetic potential of the everyday and the resonance between discarded materials and his animist-inspired practice.

Born in 1945 in Saint-Louis, Senegal, Serigne Mbaye Camara graduated from the National School of Fine Arts in Dakar (1968) and the School of Fine Arts in Metz, France (1972). Upon returning to Senegal in the mid-1970s, he committed himself to both artistic production and education. As a professor at the École nationale des arts du Sénégal, he mentored several generations of artists over three decades.

Camara’s practice is grounded in material experimentation and assemblage. His universe, often spiritual or symbolic, gives new signifi cance to the everyday through transformative processes.

Having exhibited internationally in countries such as France, Finland, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Argentina, Switzerland, Morocco, and the United States between 1994 and 2022, he was recently introduced to Japanese audiences during his 2024 residency at Space UN Gallery in Tokyo.