Binta Diaw, Naître au monde, c’est concevoir (vivre) enfin le monde comme relation n.4, 2022 (dettaglio). Capelli sintetici, acqua, vasca in metallo. Cortesy Collezione 54, Milano.

Binta Diaw (1991) is a Senegalese artist whose multidisciplinary practice investigates the relationships between identity, cultural memory and the representation of the female body in the contemporary context.

Raised between Italian and Senegalese cultures, she develops research deeply rooted in the diasporic experience and the dynamics of belonging that characterize hybrid identities. The dimension of dual cultural heritage is the starting point for a work that explores the tensions between tradition and contemporaneity, between individual memory and collective history.

After studying at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan and at ÉSAD in Grenoble, she gradually shifted her research toward the visual arts, enriching her career through residencies and international collaborations. From the outset, her work has focused on analyzing the processes of identity construction within the African diaspora, interrogating the mechanisms of cultural transmission and the transformation of traditions in a global context.

At the heart of her practice is the female figure, understood as a symbolic locus of memory, resistance, and transformation. Her works investigate the role of women as custodians of traditions and, at the same time, agents of change, highlighting the tensions between cultural continuity and the redefinition of identity models. Series such as Les Visages de l’Héritage explore the connection between generations through portraits and formal structures that allude to the stratification of memory, highlighting the capacity of identities to renew themselves without losing their connection to their roots.

Diaw’s practice spans various media, including painting, sculpture, and performance. Her visual language combines abstract and symbolic elements, with an expressive use of color and form that contributes to constructing an emotional and narrative dimension. Her sculptural works, often made with natural or recovered materials, introduce a physical and material relationship with themes of memory and belonging, while her performance activates the body as a space for experience and reflection on cultural and social dynamics.

Over the course of her career, the artist has participated in exhibitions and projects in Europe, Africa, and North America, establishing herself as one of the emerging voices in the contemporary art scene addressing issues of diaspora and female representation. Her practice is part of a research framework that promotes intercultural dialogue and greater visibility of female perspectives within the art world.

Overall, Binta Diaw’s work offers a nuanced reflection on the transformations of identity in the contemporary world. Through a layered and sensitive visual language, his works invite us to interrogate the relationship between memory, belonging, and the construction of the self, offering a vision in which personal experience and the collective dimension intertwine as central elements of the diasporic condition.

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