Born in 1990 in Abidjan and based in Bamako, Ange Dakouo is recognized as one of the emerging voices of the contemporary Malian art scene. A top graduate of the Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers Multimédia of Bamako in 2017, he has received several distinctions, including the first prize of Talents de la Cité (2015). He is also the co-founder of the Tim’Arts collective, with which he has exhibited widely in Bamako, Ségou, and Dakar. His work has been featured in several major events, including Ségou’Art (2016, 2019) and various institutional exhibitions in Mali.
A multidisciplinary artist, Dakouo has developed since 2018 a distinctive technique he calls woven gris-gris, which has become the signature of his practice. Drawing from West African spiritual traditions, he transforms newspaper, a fragile, history-laden material connected to his upbringing as the son of a printer, into contemporary talismanic forms. Cut, woven, and assembled with precision, these fragments become elements of a visual vocabulary centered on connection, memory, and protection.
Situated between painting and textile sculpture, his compositions recall the influences of Abdoulaye Konaté and El Anatsui while asserting a unique artistic identity. Through his gris-gris, Dakouo weaves together spirituality, symbolism, and social consciousness, offering a meditation on transmission, resilience, and the invisible forces that bind communities.