At a special ceremony in London, Samuel Fosso, one of Africa’s most accomplished photographers, was awarded the esteemed Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize for 2023.
Described as “a man of 1,000 faces”, the Cameroonian-born artist has specialised in self-portraiture and performative photography since starting out in the 1970s – and his works now appear in renowned galleries all over the world.
The Deutsche Börse award recognises photographers whose work have “made the most significant contribution to international contemporary photography over the past 12 months”, according to a press release.
Fosso, now 60, was raised in Nigeria, but fled during the Biafran war when his mother died and later settled with his uncle in the Central Africa Republic (CAR), where he began an apprenticeship at a local photographic studio.
At the age of 13 in 1975, he branched out on his own opening his Studio Photo Nationale in the capital, Bangui. He started taking self-portraits using up exposures on his films to send to his grandmother in Nigeria.
His initial aim was to show he was alive and well, but his interest in exploring the genre grew – and he experimented with new techniques and poses.
“Winning this prestigious prize, recognised as one of the most important in the field of photography, means that my work is recognised by the artistic community,” Fosso said.
“This recognition is very important to me. I feel a lot of joy and pride.”
One of his most famous images, from his series from the 1970s, is of him sporting bell bottom trousers inspired by West African fashion and images seen in American magazines:
In his series African Spirits from 2008, Fosso posed as 14 iconic figures of the US Civil Rights Movement:
In his Allonzenfans series from 2013, he reflected on how France conscripted men from its West African colonies to fight in World War One and World War Two:
