Known for his self-portraits in which he inhabits a vibrant array of personas, Cameroonian-Nigerian photographer Samuel Fosso examines African identities and histories through costume and impersonation, emphasizing self-representation as a locus of empowerment. Since the early 1970s, Fosso has explored archetypal figures from Africa and beyond, embodying characters in varied series in which the artist constructs and deconstructs personae both imagined and historical. In this way, the artist both celebrates and questions notions of African identity and takes an active stance in the dynamics of viewership on a global stage.
Fosso was born in Cameroon to Nigerian parents, and was raised in Afikpo, Nigeria, before fleeing unrest in the region in 1972 following the Nigerian Civil War. Settling in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, the artist opened his own photo portrait studio at just thirteen years old after spending a year as an apprentice. A key element for success as a studio photographer at that time was expediency, and Fosso’s clientele demanded a quick turnaround for their photographs. In an effort to finish rolls of film so they could be processed at the end of each day’s work, the artist would take irreverent and off-the-cuff self-portraits, sparking a practice that would continue for the rest of his career.
The playful manner in which Fosso constructs his costumes and sets belies a deeper examination of the histories of colonial rule across Africa, and of the construction of cultural identity, as well as notions of masculinity and gender at large. In his series African Spirits, the artist recreates in black-and-white the visages of historic activist figures such as Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Haile Selassie, Angela Davis, and Malcolm X, going as far as mirroring poses from their most iconic images. In his Tati series, Fosso dons his costumes with ironic flair, sending up kings, middle-class women, and pirates alike in vibrant, full-color photographs. Through satire, the artist addresses vital questions around the commodification of Africa, employing the visual language of Africa’s distinct history of studio photography to great effect. The practice of self-depiction locates Fosso within a canon of artists who utilize self-portraiture as a method of locating themselves within the art-historical canon as subjects, makers, and spectators all at once.
Works by Fosso are held in the permanent collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA; the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA; the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY; the Tate Modern, London, England; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY; the Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY; and the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY, among others.
Known for his self-portraits in which he inhabits a vibrant array of personas, Cameroonian-Nigerian photographer Samuel Fosso examines African identities and histories through costume and impersonation, emphasizing self-representation as a locus of empowerment. Since the early 1970s, Fosso has explored archetypal figures from Africa and beyond, embodying characters in varied series in which the artist constructs and deconstructs personae both imagined and historical. In this way, the artist both celebrates and questions notions of African identity and takes an active stance in the dynamics of viewership on a global stage.
Fosso was born in Cameroon to Nigerian parents, and was raised in Afikpo, Nigeria, before fleeing unrest in the region in 1972 following the Nigerian Civil War. Settling in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, the artist opened his own photo portrait studio at just thirteen years old after spending a year as an apprentice. A key element for success as a studio photographer at that time was expediency, and Fosso’s clientele demanded a quick turnaround for their photographs. In an effort to finish rolls of film so they could be processed at the end of each day’s work, the artist would take irreverent and off-the-cuff self-portraits, sparking a practice that would continue for the rest of his career.
The playful manner in which Fosso constructs his costumes and sets belies a deeper examination of the histories of colonial rule across Africa, and of the construction of cultural identity, as well as notions of masculinity and gender at large. In his series African Spirits, the artist recreates in black-and-white the visages of historic activist figures such as Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Haile Selassie, Angela Davis, and Malcolm X, going as far as mirroring poses from their most iconic images. In his Tati series, Fosso dons his costumes with ironic flair, sending up kings, middle-class women, and pirates alike in vibrant, full-color photographs. Through satire, the artist addresses vital questions around the commodification of Africa, employing the visual language of Africa’s distinct history of studio photography to great effect. The practice of self-depiction locates Fosso within a canon of artists who utilize self-portraiture as a method of locating themselves within the art-historical canon as subjects, makers, and spectators all at once.
Works by Fosso are held in the permanent collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA; the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA; the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY; the Tate Modern, London, England; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY; the Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY; and the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY, among others.
