[df-subtitle]Anonymous Saint-Louis and Mama Casset[/df-subtitle]

The history of Senegalese photography begins in Saint-Louis du Sénégal, the capital of French Sudan, with the first African photographers who started in the trade in studios run by white Europeans; pioneers who gave a less exotic, more modern and prosperous image of their fellow citizens, far removed from the typical Western imagery.

The exhibition features thirty images taken in Saint Louis by an unknown African photographer from that city. This photographer is joined by the artist who would have the greatest influence throughout West Africa: Mama Casset. Although he belongs to an earlier generation, his name is less familiar to Western audiences than that of Seydou Keita. The reason is simple: his studio burned down in 1982, ten years before his death, and only a few vintage prints and his renowned reputation survived. The exhibition will present twenty of these vintage photographs.