He is, with Malick Sidibé and Seydou Keïta, one of the biggest names in African photography. Samuel Fosso exhibits his self-portraits, his trademark, at the European House of Photography in Paris.
Emperor of Africa, black Pope, leader who sold Africa to settlers or even the great black figures of history, from Malcolm X to Nelson Mandela via Angela Davis or Aimé Césaire … Samuel Fosso is all these characters, chameleon man whose habit makes the monk. Transformist, performer, he is his only model.
A beautiful revenge for this man born with a paralysis and to whom the photo of the newborn with his parents in the tradition of Cameroon, his country of birth, was refused to him. Since then, he has never stopped photographing himself and his images are hung on the most prestigious picture rails, from the Tate Modern in London to the Center Pompidou in Paris.
” I was an abnormal child and everyone rejected. When I became a photographer, I wanted to be elegant and fashionable all the time. From there, I started doing self-portraits. “
A life that shines through in his work
The retrospective at the MEP reveals the extent of Samuel Fosso’s art. Colorful photos from the Tati store order, such as this delicious self-portrait titled ” The liberated American woman of the 1970s », Stiletto heels, pearl necklace, black and white nude photos in homage to his detained and tortured friend. A broad spectrum like the life of the artist’s many twists and turns. Born in Cameroon, he spent his childhood in Nigeria from which he fled at the age of 5 because of the Biafra war. He took refuge in Bangui, but the civil war in the Central African Republic forced him to go into exile again.
” In 2014, the civil war caused the complete destruction of my studio. My residence was also looted. This is what prompted me to start creating. In Paris, I wait for things to calm down again, but I want to rebuild my studio in Bangui. “
Obtain a voice through photography
Following the destruction of his studio, some negatives of which were saved, Samuel Fosso created the remarkable series of 666 self-portraits, this figure of the devil in the Christian imagination, where he personifies all human expressions: joy, anger, suffering, rage. ..
” The photo allowed me to express myself in what photography gave me most important. A voice to express himself: this is what photography allows Samuel Fosso, a great artist whose modesty is commensurate with his immense talent. And it was time for a retrospective to be dedicated to him.
► Samuel Fosso exhibits until March 13 at the European House of Photography in Paris.