Contemporary life in Mali is recorded in full color documentary photographs by François Deschamps.
Description
The U. S.-based photographer François Deschamps travelled to Mali on a Fulbright in 2010 and immersed himself in the urban and rural matrix that gave rise a compelling post-colonial visual identity. Working in collaboration with Malian artists and craftsmen, Deschamps took a series of stunning color photographs that capture Mali's diversity and cultural richness. With more than 100 photographs, this catalogue accompanies an exhibition at the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art. These portraits incorporate the subjectivity of the sitters through their selection of backgrounds, frames, and props, a process that follows in the footsteps of the Malian innovators. This fully illustrated book edition is designed by Deschamps.
François Deschamps teaches photography and related media at the State University of New York at New Paltz. His exhibition of photographs and mixed media works at the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art resulted from his immersion in the Malian portrait photography tradition during a Fulbright fellowship to Mali in 2010–2011.
Reviews
"Mr. Deschamps's affection and respect for the Malian tradition (and people) is evident in his work; it also reflects the ethos of African photography itself. " — New York Times