GAYLETTER

Samuel Fosso was born in 1962 in Cameroon. At the age of 13 he opened his own photo studio. During the day he would take portraits for paying clients, at night he would turn the camera on himself shooting some of the best selfies of the last century. “Fosso’s expressive black-and-white self-portraits from the 1970s make reference to popular West African culture — musicians, the latest youth fashions, and political advertising — constituting a sustained and unprecedented photographic project that explores sexuality, gender, and African self-representation.”

Fosso’s photos dressed as Muhammad Ali, Angela Davis, Patrice Lumumba, Halie Salassie and many other African American leaders are beautiful, evocative…they are quite frankly the cutting up. We suggest you take the first opportunity to see Fosso’s work, and don’t be afraid to take a selfie in front of Fosso’s wonderful selfies, we think he’d like that.

Here’s a preview of the work you’ll see at the gallery. All images © Samuel Fosso. Courtesy The Walther Collection and Jean Marc Patras / Galerie.

FREE, 12:00PM-6:00PM, The Walther Collection Project Space, 526 West 26th St. Suite 718. NY, NY.