Sanda Amadou werd geboren en groeide op in 1978 in een Fulani-gemeenschap in Noord-Benin. Hij behaalde een doctoraat in sociolinguïstiek (Universiteit van Ghana, Accra) en volgde kunstonderwijs via residenties en masterworkshops. Hij woonde en werkte een aantal jaren in Lagos, maar keerde in 2019 terug naar Cotonou, Benin. Vanaf zijn vroege jeugd tekende hij, gefascineerd door de cultuur en tatoeages van de nomadische Fulani, die hij nog steeds bestudeert en herinterpreteert.​

Amadou has developed a unique semi-abstract style of drawing and painting. During the first six years of his career (1999–2005), he focused on the striking body markings of the Fulani people, especially their tattoos. In 2002, he held his first solo exhibition at the Palais des Congrès in Niamey, Niger.

From 2006 onwards, his attention shifted to the world of the nomadic Fulani herdsmen. He began to connect this universe with other cultures and artistic expressions. Elements of dance, poetry, and spirituality became part of his work. His exploration of divinities eventually led him to the concept of sacredness.

His works seem to obey a rigorous geometry and forms complex architectures, which are simultaneously playful and surprisingly fragile. Lines, circles, triangles and quadrilaterals, semi-mathematical figures that are never perfect, connect Fulani symbols of natural life with ropes at its base. His images result in imaginary forms and grotesque figures that show a ragged vulnerability, ethereal and always in motion. They allow the viewer to glimpse an unreal essence.

In more recent work, Amadou explores new dimensions by incorporating layered textures and sculptural elements into his canvases. He works with braided synthetic hair in various forms, creating rich, tactile surfaces. His series Sacred Places, explores the new dimensions. The braids form intricate representations of forest monasteries—symbols of spiritual refuge and ecological sanctity. Through this, Amadou offers a poetic call to honour, protect, and restore the natural world, urging a renewed balance between humanity and nature.

In his latest experiment, Amadou is returning to his research of the Fulani facial tattoos, working on a new series of almost geometrical abstracts interpreting and reshaping these tattoos into new meanings.

Amadou is een erkende kunstenaar, zowel nationaal als internationaal. Hij heeft in de loop der jaren deelgenomen aan vele solo- en groeps tentoonstellingen, waaronder in Benin, Togo, Ghana, Nigeria, Zuid-Afrika, Senegal, Dubai, Duitsland, Nederland, Frankrijk en de VS (San Francisco en New York) en is te zien geweest op belangrijke internationale kunsttentoonstellingen en beurzen zoals World Art Dubai, op ARTX Lagos (Nigeria), en AKAA Parijs (groep 2021 en 2023, en solo 2022).