Saïdou Dicko's family home in Ouagadougou has long been an important feature of his work. A children's playground, its walls provide the ideal scenery for endless adventures. A tree stands proudly in front. What anecdotes has it witnessed? This new body of work is infused with the moving recollection of "the stories the children used to tell under the mango tree".

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"The nap under the shade of the mango tree, lulled by the soft melody of the rubbing of the leaves and the songs of birds enjoying the ripe mangoes. I fly in the land of dreams, I float above beautifully coloured landscapes with the flavour of mangoes. I observe these beautiful landscapes from above, with the scarf and the flowery plastic bottle, these two objects that are opposites yet coexist in harmony."

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The stories children tell under the mango tree mirror their dreams and hopes. Together, they naively imitate adults, creating a parallel reality where everything is a source of wonder. A bucket transforms into a luxury bag, the beaten earth into a dance floor. And suddenly, in front of the stone-walled house, anything feels possible.&#x20;

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Echoing the cans that once contained petrol and mutate alternately into business class and yachts in children's games, Saïdou Dicko's work touches people's sensibilities. The artist refuses to explain. Instead, he lets the magic of the images work by themselves. The final narrative escapes both the young models and the artist. The poetry of his art scatters its seeds in the imaginations of those who contemplate it, to become their own. The tales adapt to each person's visions and memories and become very personal through the eyes of the public.

On photographic paper, Saïdou Dicko covers the silhouettes of the children with black ink, transforming them into shadows. Becoming anonymous characters, their identity is limited only by their imagination. The world belongs to them. Behind them, the artist superimposes floral fabrics using his digital brushes, leaving only the main weave. The threads follow the movement of the figures, offering the stories an intimate and unique frame. The same silhouettes emerge on white paper, this time in watercolour. They interact with an environment of giants, where everything seems disproportionally bigger than them. Mischievous shadows wandering through a forest of plastic cans, they live out their own adventures, away from the reality of mortal life.

And now, in the courtyard deserted by children's voices of laughter, the branches of the mango tree of the family home still vibrate with the distant echoes of wonderful stories shared together.&#x20;


THE STORIES CHILDREN USED TO TELL UNDER THE MANGO TREE

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