African Photo Magazine Issue #8
We are particularly delighted to publish, in this issue, photographers showcasing studio photography talent that echoes the work of one of Africa’s greats, Malick Sidibé (1936–2016). Photographers Hassan Hajjaj, Omar Diop and Samuel Fosso have stayed true to the photographic style that made Mr Sidibé’s work legendary. The portraitures are uniquely stylish and follow signature themes that clearly identify each photographers artistic bent. The work of this trio speaks to the heart of this publication, the genesis of which was to not only celebrate contemporary African photography but to reach back and illuminate the artistry and creativity of our forefathers and those that came before us, and to never forget that we stand on the shoulders of giants.
We are particularly delighted to publish, in this issue, photographers showcasing studio photography talent that echoes the work of one of Africa’s greats, Malick Sidibé (1936–2016). Photographers Hassan Hajjaj, Omar Diop and Samuel Fosso have stayed true to the photographic style that made Mr Sidibé’s work legendary. The portraitures are uniquely stylish and follow signature themes that clearly identify each photographers artistic bent. The work of this trio speaks to the heart of this publication, the genesis of which was to not only celebrate contemporary African photography but to reach back and illuminate the artistry and creativity of our forefathers and those that came before us, and to never forget that we stand on the shoulders of giants.
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Over the following decades, Fosso created a body<br />
of work that became increasingly provocative and<br />
experimental. After winning an award at <strong>African</strong><br />
<strong>Photo</strong>graphy Encounters, Africa’s most important<br />
photography festival, in 1994, Fosso gained international<br />
recognition; today, he is widely considered one of Africa’s<br />
most important contemporary artists.<br />
In 2013, amid catastrophic violence in the Central <strong>African</strong><br />
Republic, Fosso’s studio was ransacked and much of his<br />
archive destroyed. Despite this, the Walther Collection in<br />
New York managed to stage a solo exhibition of Fosso’s<br />
work. His series “<strong>African</strong> Spirits” and “The Emperor of<br />
Africa,” on view for the first time in the U.S, include<br />
well-known self-portraits of Fosso impersonating<br />
civil-rights and <strong>African</strong>-independence leaders. Also on<br />
view were recent color works and Fosso’s early studio<br />
portraits, suggestive of the work of Seydou Keïta and<br />
Malick Sidibé, which have never before been shown.<br />
By Siobhán Bohnacker,<br />
senior photo editor at The New Yorker<br />
https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/siobhanbohnacker<br />
18 africanphotomagazine ISSUE 8 December 2018 19
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