Samuel Fosso

Samuel Fosso is a Cameroonian-born Nigerian photographer whose self-portraits use costume, performance, and staged identity to explore African history, cultural memory, and representation. He opened a commercial portrait studio in Bangui at thirteen, later developing the playful studio self-portraits that became central to his practice. In the 2008 series African Spirits, Fosso impersonated influential figures from African independence movements and the African diaspora, transforming familiar photographic icons through his own performance.