SAMUEL FOSSO - SELF-PORTRAIT

SAMUEL FOSSO
SELF-PORTRAIT

Published by Steidl Publishers / The Walther Collection, 2020
Book size 24 x 28 cm
Pages 352 pages + 171 images
Hardcover with dust jacket
Language English
First edition
ISBN 978-3-95829-612-1

“ Self-portrait is the first comprehensive survey of self-portraits by Samuel Fosso, one of the most significant African photographic artists working today. Since the mid-1970s, Fosso has focused on self-portraiture and performance, envisioning variations of identity in the postcolonial era. Spanning his early self-portraits in black-and-white from the 1970s through to his most recent, continually inventive exercises in self-presentation, highlights from his remarkable body of work include the vibrant and colorful series "Tati" (1997), in which Fosso playfully inhabits a range of African and African American characters and archetypes, and the magisterial "African Spirits" (2008), in which he poses, with uncanny precision, as icons of the pan-African liberation and Civil Rights movements, such as Angela Davis, Martin Luther King, Jr., Patrice Lumumba, and Nelson Mandela.

With new essays and research by leading scholars and writers, Autoportrait demonstrates Fosso's unique departure from the traditions of West African studio photography, established in the 1950s and 1960s by modern masters Seydou Keïta and Malick Sidibé. By charting his conceptual practice of self-portraiture, and sustained engagement with notions of sexuality, gender, and self-representation, this landmark monograph reveals an unprecedented photographic project—one that consistently reflects and commemorates themes in global visual culture, and covers the range of expressive applications of the photographic medium.” -Publisher

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“Self-Portrait is the first comprehensive survey of the self-portraits of Samuel Fosso, one of the most important African photographic artists working today. Since the mid-1970s, Fosso has focused on self-portraiture and performance, contemplating variations of identity in the postcolonial era. Spanning his early black-and-white self-portraits of the 1970s to his more recent, consistently inventive exercises in self-presentation, highlights of his remarkable body of work include the vibrant, colorful series “Tati” (1997), in which he playfully inhabits a range of African and African-American characters and archetypes, and the magisterial “African Spirits” (2008), in which he presents himself, with astonishing precision, as icons of the Pan-African liberation and civil rights movements, such as Angela Davis, Martin Luther King, Jr., Patrice Lumumba, and Nelson Mandela.

With new essays and research by leading scholars and writers, Self-Portrait demonstrates Fosso’s unique departure from the traditions of West African studio photography, established in the 1950s and 1960s by modern masters Seydou Keïta and Malick Sidibé. By tracing his conceptual practice of self-portraiture and his sustained engagement with notions of sexuality, gender, and self-representation, this landmark monograph reveals an unprecedented photographic project that consistently reflects and commemorates themes of global visual culture and spans the range of expressive applications of the photographic medium.” - Editor