Samuel Fosso is one of the best-known photographic artists on the African continent. In his theatrical self-portraits, he embodies very heterogeneous characters and adapts iconic images of historical figures. In his works, he reveals social codes of body, clothing and accessories as well as those of pose and facial expression; at the same time, he playfully thwarts attributions of gender, ethnic origin and social class. The solo exhibition at the KINDL shows a selection of Fosso’s works from the 1970s to the present day. The exhibition begins on September 15, 2024 and ends on February 16, 2025.
Image above: Samuel Fosso, Self portrait from the series Black Pope, 2017 © Samuel Fosso
Born in Cameroon, Fosso fled the brutal civil war in Nigeria (1967-1970) as a child with an uncle to Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic. Within a few months, he learned the craft of photography from a local photographer and worked briefly as a street photographer. In 1975, aged just 13, he opened his own photo studio. During the day, he completed his customers’ orders and in the evening he used the remaining images on the film for self-portraits, which he mainly sent to his grandmother in Nigeria.
His first photo series 70s Lifestyle (1975-78) was inspired by US magazines and the images of black Americans in contemporary fashion. Fosso was also influenced by the extravagant style of the singer Prince Nico Mbarga (1950 – 1997), who was particularly popular in West Africa in the 1970s. He had outfits made by a tailor according to his own ideas and photographed himself against the backdrop of his studio. Even these early photographs are based on a joyful play with roles, identities and media images.
In 1997, to mark its 50th anniversary, the French department store Tati invited Samuel Fosso to realize a project alongside the famous Malian photographers of the older generation Seydou Keïta (1923 – 2001) and Malick Sidibé (1935/1936 – 2016). The idea was to recreate Fosso’s studio in order to take black and white portraits of customers in Paris. However, Fosso managed to use clothes and accessories from the department store to produce colorful self-portraits in which he embodies stereotypical characters such as businessmen, golfers and rockers. The exhibition at the KINDL opens with the motif La Bourgeoise, in which Fosso can be seen wearing a long wig, make-up, a black evening dress and a fur stole.
From now on, Fosso’s work process becomes increasingly elaborate and involves elaborate sets, props, make-up, assistants and lighting direction, just like a film production. In the series African Spirits (2008), Fosso uses iconic portraits to embody protagonists of the African and African-American liberation and civil rights movement of the 20th century in order to pay homage to them. The series Emperor of Africa (2013) is also based on Fosso’s central theme of iconography: here, Fosso meticulously restages himself as Chinese leader Mao Tse-tung, thus also making reference to the current, complex relationship between Africa and China and the neo-colonialist exploitation of African resources. In his most recent major series, Black Pope (2017), Fosso finally creates the narrative of a black person as Pope – an unlikely vision despite the 2,000-year history of the Christianization of Africa.
A special feature of Fosso’s work is the intimate series Mémoire d’un ami (2000) – a homage to his friend and neighbor Tala, who was murdered by armed militias in Bangui in 1997. Here, Fosso places his own naked body in the picture to visually imagine how his friend’s last night might have gone. With great vulnerability, he visualizes the horrors and traumas of war.
As part of the Berlin Art Week 2024
Curator: Kathrin Becker
WHEN?
Opening: Saturday, September 14, 2024, 6:00 – 9 pm
Exhibition dates: Sunday, September 15, 2024 – Sunday, February 16, 2025
Opening hours: Wednesday, 12 – 8 pm, Thursday – Sunday, 12 – 6 pm
WHERE?
KINDL – Center for Contemporary Art
Am Sudhaus 3
12053 Berlin
COSTS?
YOU for KINDL: 10 EUR
KINDL for YOU: 7 EUR
Reduced admission: 4 EUR
Under 18 years: Free admission
