‘U’ve seen it… U can’t Unsee It’ explores the intersection between what one longs for and the struggles they have to face. The artist describes these paintings as “love letters to my child-self”. Her relatively simple, yet simultaneously complex, compositions use of bright colors give a sense of warmth and safety that at times can still feel heavy. Contrasting the pensive characters, all of these opposing forces and their conflicting nature are a byproduct of one’s desire to create safety out of chaos.

About Zeinab Diomande
Born in 1999, in Virginia (USA) Zeinab Diomande (aka Z the Rat) left Abidjan (Ivory Coast), where she spent her childhood and adolescence, to pursue her university studies in Philadelphia (USA) in 2017. The artist explores the theme of mental health and her experience as a black woman. These themes mark out and feed her warm and colorful world. Adapting what already exists and reinventing it in a way that also shapes a new reality is the main focus of this expression.

Diomandé is currently studying at the University of the Arts, pursuing a BFA in Fine Arts with a concentration in painting and drawing. She has exhibited at the Delaware Contemporary for “Response Gallery” (Wilmington, DE). Additionally she was a finalist for the 2021 edition of the “AXA Art Prize” exhibition (New York Academy of Art, NYC) and previously exhibited at the Loui Simone Guirandou Gallery’s exhibition “Découvertes” in July of 2021 (Abidjan, Ivory Coast) to name a few.