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Self-Portrait (SM 06)
Self-Portrait (SM 06)

Self-Portrait (SM 06)

Artist Samuel Fosso Cameroonian, born 1962, active in Bangui, Central African Republic
Date1973–1978, printed 2010
MediumGelatin-silver print on archival paper
Dimensionsheight and width: 19 11/16 × 19 11/16 in. (50 × 50 cm)
frame: 25 × 25 × 1 3/8 in. (63.5 × 63.5 × 3.5 cm)
ClassificationsPhotography
Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Friends of Photography Fund
Object number2019.15.2
On View
Not on view
Label TextIn this portrait from his 1970s youth, the artist poses flamboyantly in bell-bottom pants. The hand on his hip and the tile of his stance add extra attitude and moxie. Behind him a painted backdrop advertises his studio (Studio Photo National), referencing a triple-bind of identity, cultural stereotypes, and urban youth identities. The studio's motto, 'vous serez beau, chic, delicat et facile a reconnaitre' (be beautiful, chic, elegant, and famous), further highlights the importance of photography for manufacturing individuality and prestige.

Fosso toys with self-image, placing himself at the center of an imagined--and eventually realized--world of glamour and fame. Flirting with an urban adolescence that tends towards narcissism, he also bends the boundaries of gender by cross-dressing and using alluring, often feminine poses.
ProvenanceCreated Bangui, Central African Republic, 1973–1978, printed 2010; collection of the artist; [T8 Partners, San Francisco]; [Galerie Jean Marc Patras, Paris]; sold to NCMA, 2019.



Published ReferencesOkwui Enwezor (ed), Samuel Fosso: Autoportrait (Göttingen, Germany: Steidl; New York, NY: The Walther Collection, 2019), p. 67 (illus. color).Exhibition HistoryRaleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "The People's Collection, Reimagined," April 17–October 8, 2023. Object Rights Statement

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