Studio Photo Nationale – signé

After Samuel Fosso’s studio and home were raided in 2014 by looters in the war-torn Central African Republic, photojournalists Jerome Delay and Marcus Bleasdale, with the help of Peter Bouckaert (of Human Rights Watch) rescued Samuel Fosso’s negatives from destruction and returned them to him, at his home in Paris.

For seven years, three metal trunks containing more than 50,000 negatives remained closed; until the spring of 2021 when I was granted access and was able to make a selection from these forgotten treasures.

Dedicated to the studio photography of Samuel Fosso in the 1980s, this artist’s book tells the story of the fascinating images photographer Samuel Fosso made in his Bangui studio, decades before he was recognized as a major African artist.

Studio Photo Nationale is offered in an edition of 400 signed copies (Current Edition – 120 €) and 100 signed and numbered copies with a signed and numbered silver print (Edition with print – 450 €). The silver print of the limited edition is the double portrait on page 35 of the book.

The book is printed entirely in Risography. Bound with a metal spiral, “doubled” pages (Japanese type binding) and printed on one side only. The soft case (included in both editions) is printed in silkscreen.

The editing, design, printing and manual assembly work was done by Sébastien Girard. The book is published by Sébastien Girard in association with the M.E.P – Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris on the occasion of the first major retrospective devoted to Samuel Fosso, held from November 10, 2021 to March 20, 2022, and covering 50 years of the artist’s career.