The Senagalese photographer impresses the Arles festival with his vivid metaphorical portraits of African historical figures
• See the Diaspora Project in pictures hereSenegalese photographer Omar Victor Diop’s latest work,Project Diaspora, is a series of elaborately staged portraits of himself in various historical guises. These are based on actual paintings from the 15th to the 19th centuries, and but also refer to the modern world,particularly the world of football. The series is on show at the Arles photography festival (until 20 Sep) where he has been shortlisted for the Discovery award.
How did the Diaspora series come about?
It started with me wanting to study at these historical black figures who did not fulfil the normal expectations of the African diaspora insofar as they were educated, stylish and confident, and even whether some of them were owned by white people and treated as the exotic other. Individuals such as Albert Badin,a Swedish court servant in the 18th century or Juan de Pareja, who was a member of Velázquez’s household in the 17th century. I wanted to bring these rich historical characters into the current conversation about the African diaspora and modern issues around immigration, and integration and acceptance.
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Source: theguardian.com