Soly Cissé’s abstract painting, sculptures, and drawings conjure fantastical worlds in which humans and animals commune. His practice is rooted in his hometown of Dakar, Senegal, and the social and political unrest that took place in the years before his upbringing. Cissé’s work protests social injustice, and he relies on strong colors and complex shapes to explore the juxtaposition between the traditional and the modern in Senegal. By incorporating twisting, distorted creatures that transition from humans to other animals, Cissé examines whether humans and animals are so different after all, and why humans feel the need to separate themselves from nature. “The confrontation between humans and nature, I think we need to look at it with a critical eye,” he once said. Although many of his works are characterized by thick, sweeping brushstrokes, the addition of linear patterns and sequences of letters unite the logical with the mystical.