Sory jour et nuit

In front of the studio's open doors, a man in a flowered shirt poses astride a bicycle, one foot on the ground. Above him, the painted sign says it all: Volta Photo, day and night, in the name of S. Sory, BP 159, Bobo-Dioulasso. The promise was literal: portraits in the studio by day, bals poussière and Volta Jazz nights after dark. Opened in 1960, the year of independence, this doorway is where the whole body of work of Sanlé Sory begins, framed with a Rolleiflex in square 6x6 and never cropped.

The limited edition print of 1/8 is a digigraphie on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Baryta 315 g paper, presented in a museum frame with museum glass. This black and white print belongs to an archive rediscovered in 2011 by Florent Mazzoleni and now held at MoMA, the Art Institute of Chicago, the V&A and LACMA. An emblem of African photography, 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 sign says it all: Volta Photo, day and night. This threshold sums up the work of Sanlé Sory, studio photography by day, dance halls and bals poussière once night has fallen. Opened in 1960, this neighbourhood studio eventually crossed the doors of the museums: in 2018 the Art Institute of Chicago gave him his first solo exhibition in an American museum. A rare recognition for a whole chapter of the history of African photography.

All works by Sanlé Sory · Exhibition catalogue (PDF)