Browse exhibiting photographers from Africa.
Browse exhibiting photographers from africa
Côte d'Ivoire
Côte d'Ivoire
Côte d’Ivoire,
Côte d’Ivoire,
Togo
Togo
Morocco
Morocco
Côte d'Ivoire
Côte d'Ivoire
Lost Identity is a series of digital photography that addresses the subject of identity with a socio-political issue. The desire to mount this series was born from the realities of the new African generation and more specifically the Ivorian one. Indeed, this photographic series presents first the identity crisis, and cultural reality of the Ivorian youth and second the need to return to the sources and appropriate this identity. The pride and the Pan-African unity as a new identity claim within the youth communities in all communities throughout Africa is today a major issue in the evolution of the mentality, the evolution of mentality, culture, and valorization of Africanism. Identity is perceived as the intrinsic and extrinsic traits that allow for recognition of the social, religious, ethnic, cultural, and/or political belonging of a person or a group of people. This identity is therefore a particular mark that shows the uniqueness of a person or a group of a person or a group of persons; which, lost entails a loss of value of sociability, brake to the evolution of any civilization. Thus, the quest for oneself necessarily involves a search for identity elsewhere. This is translated by an African proverb: "It is better to know where one comes from in order to know
where one is going". In simpler terms, it is one must know one's origins, one's history, one's culture, in order to trace one's path, define one's route, in order to better understand oneself, one's environment, and one's to better understand oneself, one's environment and one's destiny. Nowadays, with the return to the sources, and the rise of Africanism and Afrocentrism, one could notice that the artistic environment is the most important place for the that the artistic environment is the most impacted and most impacting because it is by a channel of expression that the reality that represents the questioning of identity among Africans has been highlighted. Also, it is by this same channel that the first signs of the desire for cultural recognition were born. All these contacts, these efforts implemented by the pioneers of the revalorization of Africa have been and still are a guide to reconcile the youth with its cultural references when the system seems to be pushing them away. In Côte d'Ivoire, for example, how many young people speak their dialect? How many know the land of their ancestors? How many know the cultural and cultural customs of their country? Many seem to be lost and caught up in the spiral of modernization and westernization. It is time for us young people, Ivorians, and Africans from all over the world to assert our identity!
Morocco
Morocco
We all remember those photographers who were barely smiling, the ones our parents took us to in order to mark moments of a celebration, of an event, or simply to take a shot for administrative papers...In those studios, usually tiny, the imagination of the photographer carried us to the settings of our desire. Many sunsets, flower gardens, arcades, landscapes and seas were reinvented and reproduced … We could switch between universes, surpass the reality barriers through a simple change of backgrounds.
The medium is always the same. Photography transcends geography, and reinvents it.
Tangier, Tetouan, Missour, Bejaâd or Casablanca … many cities crossed through their small photography studios. One enters these spaces on tiptoes, in order to capture images from the past, and ones that are still present through outdated decors, decayed colours, an outside witness and a temptation of getaway.
Those fantasy worlds become a reality through the eye of the photographer. It is a world where anything becomes possible through a click. There are many material borders which are dematerialized through a simple look. Through their clichés, the studio photographers that he met seem to stop time.
They protect their studios the way foxes defend their hilltops.
They preserve their classic methods and framework, and keep them frozen, almost immutable. Either because they want it this way, or because they do not have the means.
These photography studios, where memory is preserved and protected, are abundant cocoons of interior lives that are unfortunately forgotten by many.
Mariouch aims to engage each photographer in his studio, where he captured photos of millions of people. A setting that is out of scope, out of time, adopting an untidy style in appearance that is almost kitsch, with flashes, frames, archives and packed boxes.
In the midst of all this, the photographer is the one who is photographed.
Paying a tribute to those people is paying a tribute to photography. 
Ethiopia
Ethiopia
In the 1930’s the people of Awi (Sebat Bet Agew) joined patriots who waged guerrilla warfare against fascist Italian invaders with other Ethiopians. Agew patriots have a rich tradition of horse riding skills to fight and transport logistics for war.
Awi Zone is one of the autonomous zones in Amhara state found to the South and South West of the State capital, Bahir Dar.
The name Sebat Bet Agew (seven families of Agew) was coined from the names of seven brothers; Ankesha, Banja, Kuakura, Chara, Metekel, Zigem and Azena.
After the total defeat and departure of Italy from Ethiopia, Sebat Bet Agew Equestrian Association (Yesebat Bet Agew /Seven Houses of Agew/Horsemen Association) was established to commemorate the role of horses and St. George in calming victory at the battle of Adwa.
Every year, the anniversary of the association takes place on the 23rd Tir (January 30) which is the date dedicated to St. George. 
Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Until I embarked on this journey I didn’t know how much I was affected by it. How deep I have swam under it and surrendered without a fight. I voluntarily let the memory consume me through the years. But I finally found the courage to face it; with the intention, I might close the door it left open for the unknown. I was abducted twice when I was four years old. Each time I was found by people who either knew me or my family. I understood the endless possibilities if the unknown had become my reality. But I also needed to face my current self and figure out how it relates to the women I wanted to portray.
I began with the thought that I was fighting my own battle. But I came to realize that through my story I was also telling the story of women who walk the road I could have walked.
*Participant of AFF virtual workshop
Sudan
Sudan
After my father passed away in 2010, I was looking through his old family photographs and handwritten letters when I came across drawings of his, and also poems and calligraphy.
Everything was about the Nubian people and culture, indigenous to present-day Sudan, and believed to be one of the cradles of civilization.
My father was always reminding us of our Nubian identity. He was from the town of Hoshmar but I grew up in the capital city of Khartoum, far from a Nubian community, so my relationship with the Nubian culture was mostly through his memories.
After his death, I felt the need to get closer to my roots and understand better what he had tried to pass down. I wanted his legacy live on, so I started a journey which took me through
Sudan to Aswan in Egypt and then to Kenya. As I searched out the Nubian culture through my father’s memories, I was also searching for my father, coming to understand all he was.
Côte d'Ivoire
Côte d'Ivoire
Tunisia
Tunisia
Côte d'Ivoire
Côte d'Ivoire
The level of development remains one of the most studied aspects in emerging countries. Côte d'Ivoire, one of the pioneers of development in Africa, is experiencing major growth, but for generations, this phenomenon has very often led to upheaval in areas that could potentially be used for housing.
The railway that already runs through the city of Abidjan is being transformed into a modern metro. My curiosity and my desire to better understand the lives of the people living in commercial zone 3, led inevitably to the implementation of this project. I explored the area from 2014 to 2020 and was adopted by its inhabitants to document its history, I realized the importance of raising collective awareness about the lives of people who do not fit into the new vision of the future at all. 
Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Somalia
Somalia
Egypt
Egypt
Ovine Condition situates itself as an ironic metaphor about forgetful gregariousness. It asks: “What takes place when one prefers conforming to the reassuring dominant discourse? To deny the truth that we see? To even ignore history?”
This body of work is divided into three parallel series of different sizes and numbers:
Celebrities are studio portraits of sheep, lambs and rams; each one exalting individuality. Presumed Innocence is shown through a photographic representation of sheep at pasture. The mask over their eyes protects their image rights; they are still presumed, innocent individuals. Field of Honour is the place where the sacrifice is done by mass; docility to their master makes them guilty.
The series in its entirety is presented as an endless belt, diverse but repetitive, developing the three series in parallel. The sheep of Rabelais, notorious for their gregariousness, have been the topic of much ridicule. The herd instinct inspired many in-depth studies on crowds during the late nineteenth century by social psychologists G. Le Bon’s in Group Psychology, W. Trotter, as well as Freud’s Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego. Willem Reich was also interested in the herd phenomenon that destroys critical thinking in favour of joining the masses, as a way of trying to understand the widespread adoption of the Nazi ideology, thereby complementing Freud’s work. History and current events continue to demonstrate how crowds have an irrational behaviour in that they destroy the individual capacity, even if their mass seems to be influencing the course of events in global geopolitics. This is why authorities seek to render individuals into a herd mentality through various means: charm, persuasion, sham and violence!
Is this oversight the cause of recurring history? Is it the need to be at the centre of the common, which allows one to forget? Unless the Masters have cultivated an intentional ignorance of the past and present. 
Côte d'Ivoire
Côte d'Ivoire
Algeria
Algeria
The photographic series « El Moudjahidate : Invisible to Visible, Fighters womens », traces the history of women who fought in the Algerian war of independence. During the war between Algeria against France (1954-1962), there is a part of the history that we don't talk. The main participation of the women to liberate the country from the colonization. Most of the women in Algeria fight against France occupation.
There were soldiers, nursery, secretary, doctors, transporting bombs, guns, unofficial letters, psychiatrist, doctor for the Algerian soldier (Those we used to call "fellagha"), making flat for all the Algerian people, preparing manifestation, making money in Algeria and France to feed the independence, actresses for the FLN around the world.
These invisible women, who played the same role as men and who, however, remained in the shadows, are of different religious denominations (Jewish, Christian, Muslim or atheist) and played a decisive role in the liberation of the country. They were all together to fight against the colonization. By doing the same things as men, they manage to give credibility and power to all women in the country, who until now had none. They are the ones who opened the breach to allow the Algerian women of today, to have more rights and freedom. These women fight doubly: Free themselves from patriarchy (father, brother and / or uncle) by fighting the colonizer.
All of this women were tortured, in jail and lost a close parent.
I wanted to Confront the past to the present. More than 50 years separated the old photo (on the left) from the recent one (on the right). This diptych photography sheds a light on History as well as a reflexion on the present: What have our fights become? How those rebellious women once pioneer could disappear from their country’s memory? What must we conclude on the condition of women in Algeria today?
Between bitterness and hope, this photo installation makes us think about History, The War of Independence in Algeria, a story told for the first time by women.
Ghana
Ghana
Côte d'Ivoire
Côte d'Ivoire
Senegal
Senegal
Nigeria
Nigeria
“We are living a historical moment which could engender a sense of reawakening and assertiveness among Africans that could guide us through the difficult journey our ancestors started in the 20th century. Indeed, decolonisation may well be fast-tracked because of the threat of a pathogen.”
—David Mwambari
“Stay at home and flatten the curve” has been the mantra and major response by countries across the world, including Nigeria. According to the government, the stay-at-home order in most parts of the country would help curb the spread of coronavirus.
While the government has demanded that the people make this sacrifice for themselves and for the love of the country, the people are demanding basic social welfare packages, a demand they have been making to the political class for decades unending.
Three weeks into the 28 days stay-at-home order in Nigeria’s most populous city, Lagos, the capital city, Abuja and Ogun (a few kilometres from Lagos), a group of armed robbers and thugs unleashed mayhem on the residents of Lagos and some parts of Ogun State. The heists seemed coordinated, as they happened simultaneously in different places. In response to this, youths from the affected communities have organised themselves into vigilance committees to keep watch over their neighbourhoods at night.
Some experts have stated that the robberies are a direct consequence of the lockdown order by the government. According to these experts, the lockdown being a copy and paste prototype from the West is an unrealistic approach in this climate for many reasons, one of which is the fact that most of the population depends on the informal economy for their daily needs.
With so much uncertainty about the economic and political landscape in post COVID19 Nigeria, many are hoping the crisis births a different Nigeria where policymakers are truly at the service of the people. Others, on the other hand, want things to return to normal.
Litany is a multimedia project (using WhatsApp voice notes from subjects, videography and photography) showing my reflection on the ongoing COVID19 pandemic crisis in Nigeria and the questions I have had to ask myself of late. It reflects the spirit of the times and asks the many questions tugging in my mind and the minds of millions of Nigerians: what does post COVID19 Nigeria look like? Would there be a mental revolution in the political class? What would the economy look like? Would the crisis put an end to health tourism amongst the political class? Is it time to truly look inwards and develop an indigenous system of government that is pro Nigerian? 
Kenya
Kenya
Côte d'Ivoire
Côte d'Ivoire
Côte d'Ivoire
Côte d'Ivoire
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Body of Land has been developed out of a year-long collaborative residency which was facilitated by Focas Scotland and supported by the British Council East Africa’s New Art New Audiences (nAnA grant).
Working with digital images, objects and performative gestures, Sekai Machache’s Body of Land: Ritual Manifestations represents several stages of an imagined ritual. The series tells a compelling story of liminality and encounters beyond the body. Machache conjures visions of the ancestral plane, a space beyond death and revival.
Initially, the artist is visited in a dream by The Oracle, who relays an important message, then in A Silent Gifting, she is gifted with several objects to use in a ritual. Her series The III Aspects of She explores the idea that the human psyche, the soul and the governing principles of the universe are split into three aspects.
Each aspect portrayed through a black femme body guised in three symbolic colors that represent and challenge our perceptions of the divine. The Black Aspect: Nyama Yake – A depiction of something of the material, the structure of the body. The White Aspect: Zamani – Ethereal, resolute and disembodied, a spirit, an apparition. The Red Aspect: Mweya – The energy that animates the body. 
Eritrea
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Ethiopia
South Africa
South Africa
South Africa
South Africa
Nigeria
Nigeria
This project was completed during the final year of Uche Okpa-Iroha’s two-year residency at the Rijksakademie, Amsterdam. The Plantation Boy project consists of two series of images that collectively examine the power structures of race and the hegemony of Western culture in the film industry. This is currently the primary focus in Okpa-Iroha’s recent artistic output. As the title suggests the project examines struggles within the black communities (including African diaspora) and the quest for freedom and self-determination that arose during slavery and its global impact on black lives.
In “The Plantation Boy” Okpa-Iroha meticulously positioned himself in the various scenes through careful strategies of reconstruction and reenactment. The artist intervenes in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1972 Hollywood movie “The Godfather” by isolating and utilizing forty original film stills from this seminal motion picture. Through a process of digital reconstructions, the artist disrupts an iconic Hollywood feature film with the presence (or introduction) of an African among the familial gangs of Italian-American subculture. In so doing he was able to bring to the fore the politics of representation in Western cinematic culture that is often marked by a striking absence of black actors. The Plantation Boy was a means to question stereotypical and subservient representations of the African identity by taking center stage and bringing it (the African identity) to the fore.
Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Côte d'Ivoire
Côte d'Ivoire
© Africa Foto Fair 2022. Presented by Aida Muluneh’s Studio
© Tsoku Maela
Interested in what we do, drop your email and we will get back to you,
We are pleased to invite you to submit your work to Africa Foto Fair 2nd Edition. We welcome submissions from both emerging and established photographers.
