Même Ousmane Sow a été petit

He was small, once upon a time, according to the book. It is Ousmane Sow, the colossal sculptor from Senegal, whose gigantic statues were exhibited one memorable summer on the Pont des Arts in Paris in 1999. Ten years later, this small book illustrated with photographs, personal documents and drawings by Christophe Humbert, is an implicit biography of the artist, from his years of «hell» in the poor district of Dakar, to his Parisian wanderings (he used to sleep in police stations), from his beginnings as a physical therapist thanks to the help of Boris Dolto (Françoise’s husband) up to world recognition at the Documenta in Kassel or at the Biennale in Venice. The book is aimed both at adults and at children, to whom he teaches that art can move the world but that it sometimes demands from its enthusiasts an unwavering will …

• Même Ousmane Sow a été petit (Even Ousmane Sow was once little), by Béatrice Soulé, drawings by Christophe Humbert, Le P’tit Jardin, 2009, 164 p., 24 €, ISBN : 978-2-9513768-3-0.