In his workshop where leather and glass mingle with astonishing harmony, Serigne Ndiaye, known under the pseudonym Serin dit Serigne, lets his vision of art shine through. Through a profound philosophy and gestures imbued with memory, the Senegalese artist explores the fusion between tradition and modernity, two poles which form the basis of his work. For him, “art is play and it’s madness”. A statement that says a lot about his way of creating, but also about his conception of the artistic world.
Serigne Ndiaye sees play as an essential dimension of the creative act. “The game is total freedom,” he says. This playful approach is the basis of his work, where each material becomes a field of experimentation. Glass, symbolizing modernity, and leather, representing history and robustness, are intertwined in his creations, carrying a story that he tells with disarming simplicity.
Like a child who handles his toys without fear or constraint, Serigne frees himself from rigid standards. “Drawing, tracing, representing what does not exist,” he explains, becomes a game where anything goes. Each piece he creates, under the Fiat Ma label, bears the imprint of a free and curious spirit, ready to reinvent the world.
MADNESS: THE AUDACITY TO EXCEED LIMITS
But art, for Serigne Ndiaye, would be nothing without a touch of madness. Not a destructive or pathological madness, but this spark that pushes us to see beyond appearances and conventions. “Madness is instinct, intuition, the courage to go where no one dares to go,” he confides.
In his works, this audacity shines through aesthetic choices that are sometimes confusing, but always innovative. Leather, which he considers “alive”, becomes a metaphor for strength and durability. This material, anchored in the history of its people, dialogues with glass, fragile but luminous, to offer creations that challenge and seduce.
AN ESSENTIAL BALANCE
For Serigne Ndiaye, play and madness are inseparable. “Without play, art becomes rigid, conformist, incapable of surprising. Without madness, it loses its momentum, its depth, its capacity to break frames,” he insists. This subtle balance between lightness and depth is at the heart of his artistic process, allowing him to create authentic and powerful works.
He draws his inspiration from the collective memory of the artisans who preceded him. “I am an extension of their hands,” he said humbly. His paintings, imbued with the spirit of traditional painters, tell the story of a people, while his leather and glass creations bear witness to a heritage that he honors while reinventing it.
Through his work, Serigne Ndiaye pays homage not only to his roots, but also to the very essence of human creativity. Each piece becomes an invitation to rethink art, not as a simple object of contemplation, but as a universal language capable of telling stories, transmitting emotions and defying conventions.
In a world where innovation is often synonymous with technology, Serigne Ndiaye reminds us that craftsmanship and creativity, guided by play and madness, remain timeless pillars of human expression.
“To create is to tell and honor,” he concludes. And in his workshop, every gesture, every material, every work bears witness to this deep conviction.
