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.