By Robin Riskin
The scent of vanilla wafts from the kitchen. Curls of lemon peel adorn the counter. Welcome to Gogo Sy’s studio.
Coconut curls soaked in food coloring pop compose Gogo’s culinary palette.
Aissata Sy, or “Gogo,” as she calls herself, is a food photographer of the most tantalizing talent. Cucumber slices, egg yolks, and coconut balls comprise her palette. Dashes of pepper and sprinklings of sugar are her texture. Radishes float in a sheet of blackness, suspended in mid-air like jewels in a Tiffany catalogue. Through her camera lens, Gogo transforms fruits and vegetables into stunning tableaux of magical allure. She pushes viewers to take time to appreciate the ordinary and to see the beauty in simple objects.
Lemon slices and radish piles make an artful composition.
While Gogo’s work is easily suited for the commercial (Senegal’s ad-heavy Jongue food spice company should try calling her right now), she captures the organic vibrancy of a Cezanne fruit still-life, fertile beauty of a Georgia O’Keefe flower painting, and subtle energy of Harold Edgerton’s “Bullet Piercing Apple” photograph.
With a papaye’s rich orange hues and black pearl sheen, Gogo urges viewers to see the beauty in simple objects.
It is only within the past year that Gogo began to work professionally as a photographer. She started off studying painting and design at Dakar’s Ecole Nationale des Arts. She bought a camera in order to capture scenes for her paintings, only to realize that photography itself was a passion. Since then, she has exhibited at the Dak’Art Biennale 2012 in St. Louis, Senegal and the annual Art Show at Hotel Sokhamon, Dakar.
As one of relatively few female artists in Senegal, Gogo has marked her place in the thriving urban art hub of Dakar. What with a “GOGO” Facebook page, sleek “GogO” logo, and slew of exhibitions under her belt, Gogo is not just an artist but an entrepreneur.
Gogo began by studying painting and design, only to realize photography itself was a passion.
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