SENEGAL - Rackie Diankha (b.1974) is a graduate of the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Dakar. She has exhibited widely in Austria and here in the U.S at the Mbari Institute in 2003. Her conceptual pieces are at once intriguing, rich in mystery and beautifully textural. Emancipation, her largest and most imposing piece in the show, carries a message from Rackie to the women of Senegal who, she feels, should be able to express themselves freely, have the right of free speech, attain higher education and experience life like all other women in the world. “I am hoping for modest emancipation, so that women can realize their true value, but not an emancipation that will turn the society upside down, because total freedom for women would not be looked on favorably by either the men or the women in this society.” The luminosity she achieves in Emancipation contributes to the extraordinary quality of this painting. Intimate Language portrays the symbolical importance of hand woven and dyed textiles in Senegalese society. The squares in this work reflect many different customs in their lives. Coded Language I contains symbols important to Rackie’s life, signs and symbols taken from nature. Koumpe (Curiosity) discusses the wish to know what is hidden in back of something. Here the artist revives the intimate undergarment (“petit pagne”), emblematic to her society, which can be compared to a veil that hides a beautiful face behind beads. The holes and beads in this work are meant to reinforce curiosity and fascination. Untitled, made while the artist was visiting Washington, D.C., is an ode to her four week stay in the U.S. in 2003.