"When I stand before a blank canvas, the paintbrush becomes a machete, and the canvas turns into a dark, treacherous space that I must carve my way through in order to create a path."

Aliou Diack was born in 1987 in Sidi Bougou, a village in the Mbour department, located 80 km south of the capital, Dakar. From an early age, he fell in love with Mother Nature, and his favorite pastime was exploring it. At the age of ten, he moved to Dakar to continue his studies. The transition left him feeling disoriented, and to ease his longing for the lush flora and free, thriving wildlife of his village, Aliou began drawing everywhere, trying to recreate the environment that had nurtured him.

He then started painting on his T-shirts, and in 2009, with financial support from his spiritual guide, he applied for admission to the National School of Arts. Over time, Aliou honed his craft, combining his innate talent with the techniques he learned. With a distinctive style of his own, he graduated at the top of his class in the Expression Department in 2013.