Samuel Fosso: self-portraits

This display showcases self-portraits by the Cameroonian-born artist Samuel Fosso (b.1962). 

It includes work made in the 1970s alongside a body of new self-portraits made in 2015 – 16, which are being exhibited here for the first time. Fosso began making self-portraits aged thirteen when he opened his own photographic studio in Bangui, Central African Republic in 1975. In these private studio self-portraits, the artist used masquerade and performance, borrowing iconic images and cultural stereotypes to explore African identities. His latest body of work consists of 666 large formats Polaroid self-portraits produced in an intensive process; the display will include a selection of Polaroids from the series.

This display is funded by the William Brake Charitable Trust.

© National Portrait Gallery, London