Si tu bois beaucoup

Beneath leaves bleached by the flash, a dancer tips back his bottle with one arm flung wide as the circle tightens around him: a cigarette at the lips on the left, open shirts, a loudspeaker set down on the right. Sanlé Sory shot this scene at one of the bals poussière he staged himself, leaving his Volta Photo studio in Bobo-Dioulasso after dark to light up village dances, square Rolleiflex in hand, the frame never cropped.

This limited edition print (1/8) is a digigraphie on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Baryta 315 g paper, presented in a museum frame with museum glass. A key figure of african photography, rediscovered in 2011 by Florent Mazzoleni, Sanlé Sory is held by MoMA, the Art Institute of Chicago, the V&A and LACMA. This black and white print is on view in Generation Volta at Sakana Gallery, Donostia, until 1 October 2026.

Print details

• Edition : 1/8
• Image : 36 × 36 cm
• Paper : 40 × 50 cm
• Technique : Digigraphie print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Baryta 315 g paper
• Framing : Museum framing, museum glass

The photo studios of the independence years have mostly been told from the capitals, Bamako above all. Sanlé Sory held Bobo-Dioulasso instead, and he did not stop at the studio: after dark he lit the bals poussière he staged himself. This dancer and his bottle belong to a rare chapter in the history of African photography, far from studio photography, the chapter of the parties, the music and a Voltaic youth that danced until daybreak.

All works by Sanlé Sory · Exhibition catalogue (PDF)