Picturing Africa | A Conversation with Photographer Omar Victor Diop
Senegalese photographer Omar Diop breaks the mold of traditional photography and conveys a universally relevant message through his images; Diop fascinates with his unanticipated perspective on African culture and history.
Diop shot “The Future of Beauty” in 2011, and most recently, “Project Diaspora.”
In “Project Diaspora”, his first solo museum exhibition, the artist takes himself as subject in order to explore what it has meant to be an African outside of Africa in different historical contexts. The series of 18 photographs transports the viewer through space and time, reimagining iconic representations of notable Africans in Western and Asian art from the 15th through 19th centuries. In restaging these historical portraits, Diop frequently interjects modern sports memorabilia- such as gloves and soccer balls- in order to draw a parallel between the exoticized subjects of the original paintings and current portrayals of black athletes in contemporary media.
Drawing from his experience and unique perspective, Mr. Diop will be delivering a lecture on his multifaceted practice, which includes costume design, styling and creative writing.
Presented as part of the High Museum of Art’s “MAKING AFRICA” exhibition.
When: November 3, 2017 | 7:00 p.m.
Where: High Museum of Art, Hill Auditorium (1280 Peachtree St NE, Atlanta, GA 30309)
For tickets: click here
BIOGRAPHY
Omar Victor Diop was born in Dakar in 1980. He developed an early interest in photography and design, essentially as a means to capture the diversity of modern African societies and lifestyles.
The quick success of his first conceptual project Fashion 2112, le Futur du Beau, which was featured at the 2011 Pan African Exhibition of the African Biennale of Photography in Bamako (Rencontres de Bamako), encouraged him to end his career in corporate communications in order to dedicate himself to photography in 2012.
Omar Victor Diop lives in Dakar; his body of work includes fine arts and fashion photography as well as advertising photography. He enjoys mixing his photography with other art forms such as costume design, styling and creative writing. This is particularly visible in his Studio des Vanités series, which blends modern photography and design while referencing traditional African portraiture.
This France-Atlanta event is made possible with the support of:
