Yacouba Zéro

Deep into a bal poussière, one of the open-air village dances Sanlé Sory organised himself. In the middle of the circle a dancer arches backwards until balance almost gives way, legs wide apart, knees bent, a pale cap on his head, sandals in the dust. Around him, striped boubous, light suits and printed dresses; the crowd holds its breath. The flash fires at the exact second the figure tips.

The black and white print belongs to a limited edition of 8, this copy numbered 3: a Digigraphie on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Baryta 315 g paper, museum framed under museum glass. Founder of the Volta Photo studio in Bobo-Dioulasso and photographer of the Volta Jazz, Sanlé Sory is a pivotal name in African photography, held by MoMA, the Art Institute of Chicago and LACMA. Generation Volta runs at Sakana Gallery, Donostia, until 1 October 2026.

Print details

• Edition : 3/8
• Image : 36 × 36 cm
• Paper : 40 × 50 cm
• Technique : Digigraphie print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Baryta 315 g paper
• Framing : Museum framing, museum glass

This dancer arched at the heart of a bal poussière fixes a precise moment in the history of African photography: the years 1960 to 1983, the golden age of a young, independent Upper Volta. Sanlé Sory did not only open his studio by day; he staged these village celebrations himself and fired his flash as the figure tipped. The 1983 coup would close that festive parenthesis. The picture keeps its exact energy, suspended between two beats.

All works by Sanlé Sory · Exhibition catalogue (PDF)