Samuel Fosso, (born 1962, Kumba, Cameroon), Cameroonian photographer who was best known for
his “autoportraits,” in which he transformed himself into other people and characters drawn from
popular culture and politics.
Fosso lived in Nigeria as a child, but the conflict caused by the secession of Biafra in the late 1960s forced his family to flee to Bangui, Central African Republic, where he ultimately settled. He discovered photography in his early teens while working as a shoemaker, and by 1975, after a brief apprenticeship with a local photographer, he had opened his own studio. He lived and worked at the studio, creating portraits of the local residents by using studio lights fashioned from pots and backgrounds made from traditional African fabrics or hand painted by friends.
Samuel's Work
This first image is a very powerful and political piece of art. It features Samuel himself posing as an androgynous male. His appearance holds both feminine and masculine features with the contrast of the feminine heels and the masculine hat. This image holds a powerful message about self-identity and how important it is to be yourself and to express yourself. The rest of Samuel Fosso's work I did not personally connect with so I therefore only analysed the one image as I feel that it is the only image that can help me on my project.
Influence
The content of Fosso's work is what has inspired me the most. The way he expresses himself in his images is very creative and unique and that has influenced my content that has gone into my images. I have taken his Androgynous character and from that identified myself and began to express my self-identity within the images I create.
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