Rising star of African art prefers to paint with 'noble and magnificent' black

Contemporary Senegalese artist Omar Ba paints a new canvas in black at his workshop in Sangalkam. Photo: AFP

In a serene studio filled with birdsong, Omar Ba takes off his shoes and gets down on his hands and knees. Then the renowned Senegalese artist begins to paint a 5m-long canvas a deep, dark shade of black.

This is how Ba, a rising star in the world of contemporary African art, starts most of his works, which question the state of the world and Africa's place in it.