Kadia Doumbouya’s art is a profound exploration of identity, culture, and immigration. Her journey as an artist is deeply intertwined with her personal history, which spans continents and cultures. Born in the Netherlands, spending her youth in Guinea, and later relocating to Belgium at the age of twelve, Doumbouya’s work reflects a perpetual search for an identity she once thought lost. Her quest for self-understanding and acceptance is one of the driving forces of her practice, resulting in captivating works of art.
A pivotal moment in Doumbouya’s life was her move to Belgium. The transition from one culture to another was jarring, leading to an intense effort to blend in, to avoid standing out in any way. However, her physical appearance - a tall, black girl - made it impossible to completely assimilate. This dichotomy between her desire to fit in and the impossibility of doing so led to a profound sense of not belonging. As she matured, Doumbouya’s need to assert her presence and accept her multifaceted identity grew stronger. Her art became a medium through which she could navigate these complex feelings. Through creating, she sought clarity, aiming not necessarily to provide definitive answers but by posing new, meaningful questions.
Doumbouya’s work is a testament to the immigrant experience, characterized by a sense of being perpetually in-between cultures - never fully part of either the one left behind or the new one embraced. This dissonance is palpable in Doumbouya’s experiences. She often found herself excluded from her Belgian peers’ nostalgic recollections of childhood songs and television shows, as her own memories from Guinea contrasted with theirs. Conversely, upon returning to Guinea, she sometimes felt alienated, struggling to understand new expressions and cultural nuances that had evolved during her absence. This “territorial problem,” as she describes it, underscores the persistent gap in her cultural identity.
Doumbouya’s solution to this issue is profound in its simplicity: she refuses to separate her experiences into isolated bubbles. Instead, she embraces the fusion of her diverse cultural realities, channeling this synthesis into her art. Her representations of black, naked bodies - bodies that mirror her own - are powerful, imposing, and deeply evocative. These figures are not just physical forms but vessels of memory, trauma, and resilience. Through them, Kadia seeks to make the invisible visible, to show what lies beyond appearances, to reclaim her body, and to express the complex layers of her identity. Indeed, one of the most striking aspects of Doumbouya’s work is her focus on black subjects. This choice is both a personal and political statement, as she navigates and challenges the expectations placed upon her as an artist. A notable anecdote involves a white person questioning when she would paint a white figure, prompting Doumbouya to reflect on whether white artists are similarly questioned about their choice of subjects. This interaction highlights the implicit biases and assumptions that pervade the art world.
Art, for Doumbouya, is a space of liberation and belonging. It allows her to explore and express aspects of herself that might otherwise remain hidden. The creative process offers a sense of detachment, enabling her to present bodies—both her own and others’—as universal rather than personal. This detachment is crucial, providing balance and allowing her to delve deeply into sensitive and significant themes. A new series in Doumbouya’s work occurred during the third year of her bachelor’s degree in art at ESA Saint-Luc in Liège. While earlier artworks were intensely personal and focused on her own body, this new body of work explored a new theme: female excision. Addressing such a heavy and complex subject required her to rethink her approach, exploring new mediums, techniques, and compositions. Earlier this year Doumbouya presented this new series of works during her first solo exhibition at the Chênée cultural center in Liège. She is currently studying for a Master of Fine Arts degree at the KASK School of Arts in Ghent, combined with a residency at Sammy Baloji’s Twenty Nine Studio.
In conclusion, Kadia Doumbouya’s art is a powerful exploration of identity, culture, and resilience. Her work transcends personal narrative, addressing universal themes through the lens of her unique experiences. Doumbouya creates art that is not only deeply personal but also profoundly relevant to broader conversations about identity and belonging in a globalized world.