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Due to the Paralympic Games, the electric shuttle’s itinerary is exceptionally changed this Sunday. The Friedland stop is moved to the Les Sablons station (metro line 1), at 85 avenue Charles de Gaulle. 

Autoportrait

  • 1975
  • Samuel Fosso
  • Gelatin silver print
  • 100 x 100 cm

70’s Lifestyles (1973-1977) by Samuel Fosso is a self-portrait collection comprising sixty black-and-white photos, nine of which are included in this exhibition. The artist stages himself in glamorous and uninhibited poses: tight shirts, platform shoes, dark glasses. He uses the studio as a safe space to play with the codes of representation, black masculinity and societal expectiations. Emblematic of an emancipated adolescence, these self-portraits are also a reflection of the transition of African societies, progressing from a colonial environment to an era of independence. 

© Samuel Fosso © Primae / David Bordes

Hangs

Samuel Fosso

Born from Nigerian parents in Kumba, western Cameroon in 1962, Samuel Fosso moved to Bangui in 1972. There, at the age of thirteen, he opened a photography studio specializing in portraits: the National Photo Studio.

At night, he would develop his films for his clientele and use the rest of the film to create self-portraits, drawing inspiration from French and American magazines and the style of African musicians. He continued his exploration of portraiture through various series (Tati, 1997; Memory of a Friend (Mémoire d’un ami), 2000; My Grandfather’s Dream (Le Rêve de mon grand-père), 2004; African Spirit, 2008; Emperor of Africa, 2013; Allonzenfans, 2013; SIXSIXSIX , 2015-2016; Black Pope, 2017), breaking away from the codes of African studio photography to address the themes of postcolonial identity and gender-fluidity. 

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