Artworks

Self Portrait, 1976

  • Artist

    Samuel Fosso

  • Title

    Self Portrait

  • Date

    1976

  • Medium

    Gelatin silver print

  • Dimensions

    40 × 40 in. (101.6 × 101.6 cm)

  • Edition

    8

  • Credit line

    The Studio Museum in Harlem; Museum purchase with funds provided by the Acquisition Committee

  • Object Number

    2003.10.23

Samuel Fosso opened his own photography studio in 1975, at the age of thirteen. Self Portrait, taken a year later, is an early work from his career-long project of self-portraiture as self-fashioning. Using the remaining frames on unfinished rolls of film from shoots with clients, Fosso photographed himself, experimenting with costume, pose, and backdrop. His portraits explore and challenge a variety of Pan-African identities, drawing inspiration from Black magazines in the United States, friends and family, and images of independence movement leaders from across the diaspora.


Explore further
Artworks

Self Portrait, 1976

  • Artist

    Samuel Fosso

  • Title

    Self Portrait

  • Date

    1976

  • Medium

    Gelatin silver print

  • Dimensions

    40 × 40 in. (101.6 × 101.6 cm)

  • Edition

    8

  • Credit line

    The Studio Museum in Harlem; Museum purchase with funds provided by the Acquisition Committee

  • Object Number

    2003.10.23

Samuel Fosso opened his own photography studio in 1975, at the age of thirteen. Self Portrait, taken a year later, is an early work from his career-long project of self-portraiture as self-fashioning. Using the remaining frames on unfinished rolls of film from shoots with clients, Fosso photographed himself, experimenting with costume, pose, and backdrop. His portraits explore and challenge a variety of Pan-African identities, drawing inspiration from Black magazines in the United States, friends and family, and images of independence movement leaders from across the diaspora.


Explore further