One’s first impression upon entering Saïdou Dicko’s solo exhibition “Fragile” was that one had arrived too early. Red-and-white packing tape stamped with the word FRAGILE circumscribed each painting, as if the artworks had yet to be fully unpacked. But within the tape’s borders, many pieces revealed clearly visible handpainted photographs of children from the Sahel, attired in the traditional Fulani cloth of West Africa. This tension between export commodity and intimate portrait intertwined throughout the presentation, weaving together the visual languages of traditional Fulani practices and their appropriation.
