“'Anomalies' is the title I gave to the exhibition that took place in Galerie Templon, Brussels, in February 2021. I gave this title because I thought it worked very well with the global situation we are in. There is something wrong, there is something out of order, there is something that is not on the right track. I wanted to paint about the fragility of democracy and individual freedoms.
The figure here, a child, is entangled into a web of maps and complex connections. It is a metaphor for youth’s current situation in Africa, but also around the globe. The word is incredibly complex to understand. There are political issues but also environmental risks. I mixed mythological and oneiric references trying to denounce the insidious regimes of leaders who claim to be democratic but in reality, neglect its most important firewalls, from the constitution to the national assembly.
This series made during the last months of 2020 is also instilled by the current pandemic. I imagined pale, pervasive flashes that, to me, are repetitive to the point of obsession, like a virus, like the veil of the pandemic pouring all over us. I think they expose the cracks in our social and mental environment. With this work, I question the representation of the ‘individual’, subtly examining the contradictions of our materialistic values of freedom and fulfillment: to what extent must we place limits on our future freedom and comfort in order to save lives?” - Omar Ba, July 2021.
