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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Mmekutmfon ‘Mfon’ Essien,<br />
a Nigerian-born American photographer,<br />
MFON was born in the village of Ikot<br />
Ekpene in Nigeria, and came with her<br />
family to the United States settling in<br />
Baltimore when she was 2. Mfon studied<br />
literature and art at Morgan State<br />
University in Baltimore, and then moved<br />
to New York, where she started to work<br />
as a fashion photographer.<br />
Mfon was a trail-blazing, visionary<br />
photographer who first exhibited with<br />
New York gallery, Rush Arts in Chelsea<br />
in 1996. She exhibited at the Senegalese<br />
Biennale in Dakar, Senegal and received<br />
an honorable mention in the American<br />
<strong>Photo</strong> magazine annual survey of the<br />
nation’s best photographers.<br />
Her last work, produced after she<br />
underwent a radical mastectomy, was<br />
a series of nude self-portraits titled<br />
“The Amazon’s New Clothes,” - when<br />
she knew that she was dying - two of<br />
which were in the seminal exhibition<br />
“Committed to the Image: Contemporary<br />
Black <strong>Photo</strong>graphers,” at the Brooklyn<br />
Museum of Art in 2001.<br />
Mmekutmfon ‘Mfon’ Essien passed away<br />
Feb. 13, 2001 of triple negative breast<br />
cancer in New York four days before the<br />
opening of the exhibition. She was 34.<br />
She is survived by her mother, Adiaha<br />
Essien, and two brothers, Ebakuwa and<br />
Sema Essien, all of Baltimore.<br />
8 africanphotomagazine ISSUE 8 December 2018 9
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