La relève

In front of the draped cloth of the Volta Photo studio, carpets underfoot, two young men build their own image. One leans in, striped headband across his forehead, sleeveless jumper over a white shirt, pointing a finger, one leg forward in flared trousers; the other crosses his arms in dark glasses, a tracksuit with white stripes and trainers. In Bobo-Dioulasso, Sanlé Sory let each sitter choose pose and accessories, often lent by the studio: a whole rising generation shows itself here, the one the title names.

Limited edition print 3/8, digigraphie on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Baryta 315 g paper, museum frame and museum glass. Rediscovered in 2011 by Florent Mazzoleni, Sanlé Sory holds a central place in african photography: MoMA, the Art Institute of Chicago, the V&A and LACMA keep his works. This black and white print is on show in Generation Volta, 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

In the West African studio photography of the independence years, the backdrop is not there to imitate Europe: it offers a stage on which each sitter sets his own appearance. These two young men, one in flares, the other in a tracksuit, stand as models of a youth inventing itself, the very changing of the guard the title names. Like the great African studios of his time, Sanlé Sory ran less a workshop than a social theatre, where the history of African photography was written in the present tense.

All works by Sanlé Sory · Exhibition catalogue (PDF)