Manel Ndoye: Vivre Ensemble

Opening reception, Thursday 1 February 2024, 6 - 8 pm.

Jack Bell Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of paintings by Manel Ndoye. This will be the artist’s second solo show with the gallery. Manel continues to explore and represent his concern for nature, environment and the sacred traditions of the Lébou community on the peninsula of Cap-Vert, Senegal. 

I would like to direct the viewer’s perception of forms synchronized between figuration and abstraction to make us aware of the loving relationship that we have with our ecosystem.

I wish to highlight that women have often been central in ecological battles. Their relationship with the environment is innate and learned for a long time, it is expressed in particular through traditional music. The message is magnificently carried by these powerful and authentic women, which is why I often pay homage to these women in a proud, standing posture. Their balanced emotions offer us a deep sense of stability, this stems from their role as economic, social and cultural pillars in their communities. On the shores of the sea these women carry messages that are a tribute to the sea, rejoicing in the face of natural elements.

At a distance from the works, the viewer can observe masses of colours which produce shapes, closer in we see that the images are made up of multiple lines. Traits as metaphors to say that they are the basis of all construction, like a constantly evolving writing that emerges from these women. A multitude of features to also convey the spirit of living together and the movement of fish in the seabed. My mark making is essentially developed from elements of nature to be protected both in the aquatic and terrestrial environment. My concern when I paint is to see our world politically and environmentally stable. 

-       Manel Ndoye

Ndoye was born 1986 in Diender, Senegal.