SIXSIXSIX - Samuel Fosso
SIXSIXSIX consists of 666 large-format Polaroid self-portraits (each 21.5 x 27 cm), made in an intensive process by Samuel Fosso with a small team in his Paris studio in 2015 and 2016. Photographed against the same rich, colorful backdrop, these striking photographs depart from Fosso's early self-portraits in their sober, stripped-down approach. Fosso's challenge was to create 666 self-portraits, each with a different body expression, reminding us of the link between his performances and photography.
"In this series, there's misfortune and happiness, misfortune and good fortune. I was very inspired by both aspects. SIXSIXSIX refers to the number of misfortunes. By this I mean what I've encountered in my life so far. After my illness came the Biafran war; millions died, and I was lucky enough to be saved. I went to the Central African Republic where I lived through the conflicts of 2014, in which I could also have died. [For everything I went through, God was with me and saved me. [... ] Ultimately, it's about buried emotions that we create ourselves, and exorcising my resentment of the situation. From 1976 to 2014, I have never in my life been at peace with the actions of those who still sow misfortune among children and innocents." - Samuel Fosso
Published by Steidl, 2020
19 cm x 24 cm, 680 pages, new
ISBN 9783958295094
SIXSIXSIX consists of 666 large-format Polaroid self-portraits (each 21.5 x 27 cm), made in an intensive process by Samuel Fosso with a small team in his Paris studio in 2015 and 2016. Photographed against the same rich, colorful backdrop, these striking photographs depart from Fosso's early self-portraits in their sober, stripped-down approach. Fosso's challenge was to create 666 self-portraits, each with a different body expression, reminding us of the link between his performances and photography.
"In this series, there's misfortune and happiness, misfortune and good fortune. I was very inspired by both aspects. SIXSIXSIX refers to the number of misfortunes. By this I mean what I've encountered in my life so far. After my illness came the Biafran war; millions died, and I was lucky enough to be saved. I went to the Central African Republic where I lived through the conflicts of 2014, in which I could also have died. [For everything I went through, God was with me and saved me. [... ] Ultimately, it's about buried emotions that we create ourselves, and exorcising my resentment of the situation. From 1976 to 2014, I have never in my life been at peace with the actions of those who still sow misfortune among children and innocents." - Samuel Fosso
Published by Steidl, 2020
19 cm x 24 cm, 680 pages, new
ISBN 9783958295094
SIXSIXSIX consists of 666 large-format Polaroid self-portraits (each 21.5 x 27 cm), made in an intensive process by Samuel Fosso with a small team in his Paris studio in 2015 and 2016. Photographed against the same rich, colorful backdrop, these striking photographs depart from Fosso's early self-portraits in their sober, stripped-down approach. Fosso's challenge was to create 666 self-portraits, each with a different body expression, reminding us of the link between his performances and photography.
"In this series, there's misfortune and happiness, misfortune and good fortune. I was very inspired by both aspects. SIXSIXSIX refers to the number of misfortunes. By this I mean what I've encountered in my life so far. After my illness came the Biafran war; millions died, and I was lucky enough to be saved. I went to the Central African Republic where I lived through the conflicts of 2014, in which I could also have died. [For everything I went through, God was with me and saved me. [... ] Ultimately, it's about buried emotions that we create ourselves, and exorcising my resentment of the situation. From 1976 to 2014, I have never in my life been at peace with the actions of those who still sow misfortune among children and innocents." - Samuel Fosso
Published by Steidl, 2020
19 cm x 24 cm, 680 pages, new
ISBN 9783958295094