Omar Victor Diop

Last updated

Omar Victor Diop
Born1980 (age 4344)
Dakar, Senegal
NationalitySenegalese
Known forPhotography

Omar Victor Diop (born 1980) is a Senegalese photographer whose conceptually-rich work is exhibited around the world. [1] [2] He lives and works in Dakar and Paris, France.

Contents

Early life and education

Omar Victor Diop was born in Dakar, Senegal. He is the youngest of six children, and his parents valued education as a means to pursue opportunity. He and his siblings attended optimal schooling from a young age, which resulted in a career in finance and corporate communications. [2] [3] He studied at the ESCE International Business School in Paris before working at Ernst & Young as an analyst, and then with British American Tobacco in the African international relations department. [4]

After a year-long sabbatical from corporate life, Diop made a shift towards a career in the arts in 2010. [3] His debut project, Fashion 2112, The Future of Beauty, was a series of photographs which was shown at the Pan African Exhibition of the African Biennale of Photography in Bamako, Mali (2011). The success and recognition of this project resulted in Diop's attention to photography exclusively.

Work

Though Diop began his career in communications, by 2010 he had moved into the highly active territory of fashion photography. Prior to this, he had experimented in landscape photography, and later worked for fashion lines Bantu Wax and Adama Paris, among others. By September 2013, he had produced 70 percent of the commercial advertising market in Dakar. [4] While he continues to work in the commercial field, his studio practice lies in the style of Fine Art portraiture; often self-portraiture. Diop uses his own body to restage historical events, encouraging "the viewer to question the narrative of history that we are traditionally taught and see Black people themselves as the agents of change." [5] He produces work in series, and, much like Malian photographer Seydou Keïta, continues in the tradition of African studio photography. [6]

Series

Diop has released numerous series, including:

Exhibitions

Diop has participated in numerous exhibitions internationally, including:

Group exhibitions [12]

Solo exhibitions [12]

Collections

Diop's work is held in a number of public collections, including:

Art market

Omar Victor Diop is represented by the MAGNIN-A [18] gallery in Paris, and by Elaine Harris with AfricaLive Productions. [19]

Similar artists

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juergen Teller</span> German fine-art and fashion photographer (born 1964)

Juergen Teller is a German fine-art and fashion photographer. He was awarded the Citibank Prize for Photography in 2003 and received the Special Presentation International Center of Photography Infinity Award in 2018.

Seydou Keïta was a Malian photographer known for his portraits of people and families he took at his portrait photography studio in Mali's capital, Bamako, in the 1950s. His photographs are widely acknowledged not only as a record of Malian society but also as pieces of art.

African Photography Encounters is a biennial exhibition in Bamako, Mali, held since 1994. The exhibition, featuring exhibits by contemporary African photographers, is spread over several Bamako cultural centers, including the National Museum, the National Library, the Modibo Keïta memorial, and the District Museum. The exhibition also features colloquia and film showings. The most recent biennial took place in 2017.

Malick Sidibé was a Malian photographer from a Fulani village in Soloba, who was noted for his black-and-white studies of popular culture in the 1960s in Bamako. Sidibé had a long and fruitful career as a photographer in Bamako, Mali, and was a well-known figure in his community. In 1994 he had his first exhibition outside of Mali and received much critical praise for his carefully composed portraits. Sidibé's work has since become well known and renowned on a global scale. His work was the subject of a number of publications and exhibited throughout Europe and the United States. In 2007, he received a Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice Biennale, becoming both the first photographer and the first African so recognized. Other awards he has received include a Hasselblad Award for photography in 2003, an International Center of Photography Infinity Award for Lifetime Achievement (2008), and a World Press Photo award (2010).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seni Awa Camara</span> Senegalese sculptor

Seyni Awa Camara is a Senegalese sculptor from the Diola ethnic group. She was born in Bignona, where she still lives and works. She creates sculptures in clay in her front yard, then fires them in an open-hearth kiln before displaying them around her house. The pieces, ranging in size from 12 inches tall to 8 feet tall, represent personal symbols.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Théodore Monod African Art Museum</span> Art museum in Dakar, Senegal

The Théodore Monod African Art Museum in Dakar, Senegal is one of the oldest art museums in West Africa. It was promoted by Léopold Senghor, the country's first President.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simon Njami</span>

Simon Njami is a writer and an independent curator, lecturer, art critic and essayist.

Jean "Johnny" Pigozzi, heir to the CEO of the automobile brand Simca, is an art collector, photographer and fashion designer. He lives in Geneva.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zanele Muholi</span> South African artist and visual activist (born 1972)

Zanele Muholi is a South African artist and visual activist working in photography, video, and installation. Muholi's work focuses on race, gender and sexuality with a body of work that dates back to the early 2000s, documenting and celebrating the lives of South Africa's Black lesbian, gay, transgender, and intersex communities. Muholi is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns, explaining that "I'm just human".

Contemporary African art is commonly understood to be art made by artists in Africa and the African diaspora in the post-independence era. However, there are about as many understandings of contemporary African art as there are curators, scholars and artists working in that field. All three terms of this "wide-reaching non-category [sic]" are problematic in themselves: What exactly is "contemporary", what makes art "African", and when are we talking about art and not any other kind of creative expression?

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ananias Leki Dago</span> Ivorian photographer

Ananias Leki Dago is an Ivorian photographer.

Pieter Hugo is a South African photographer who primarily works in portraiture. He lives in Cape Town.

Johnson Donatus Aihumekeokhai Ojeikere, known as J.D. 'Okhai Ojeikere, was a Nigerian photographer known for his work with unique hairstyles found in Nigeria.

Viviane Sassen is a Dutch artist living in Amsterdam. She is a photographer who works in both the fashion and fine art world. She is known for her use of geometric shapes, often abstractions of bodies. She has been widely published and exhibited. She was included in the 2011 New Photography exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art. She has created campaigns for Miu Miu, Stella McCartney, and Louis Vuitton, among others. She has won the Dutch Prix de Rome (2007) and the Infinity Award from International Center of Photography.

Maïmouna Guerresi is an Italian-Senegalese multimedia artist working with photography, sculpture, video, and installation. Her work incorporates Afro-Asian themes and symbolism with traditional European iconography.

Adama Delphine Fawundu Adama Delphine Fawundu is an artist born in Brooklyn, NY the ancestral space of the Lenni-Lanape. She is a descendant of the Mende, Krim, Bamileke, and Bubi peoples. Her multi-sensory artistic language centers around themes of indigenization and ancestral memory. Fawundu co-published the critically acclaimed book MFON: Women Photographers of the African Diaspora with photographer Laylah Amatullah Barrayn. – MFON is a book featuring the diverse works of women and non-binary photographers of African descent. Her works have been presented in numerous exhibitions worldwide. She is a Professor of Visual Arts at Columbia University.

Fatoumata Diabaté is a Malian photographer from Bamako.

Lebohang Kganye is a South African visual artist living and working in Johannesburg. Kganye is part of a new generation of contemporary South African artists and photographers born shortly before or after Apartheid ended.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint-Louis Photography Museum</span> Photography museum in Saint-Louis, Senegal

The Saint-Louis Photography Museum is a museum located in Saint-Louis, Senegal. It is the first museum in Senegal dedicated to photography.

Alinka Echeverría is a Mexican-British visual anthropologist, artist, filmmaker, and broadcaster.

References

  1. "Omar Victor Diop". Jenkins Johnson Gallery. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  2. 1 2 “Through the Lens.” Films Media Group, 2018, fod.infobase.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=102633&xtid=187222. CNN. Accessed 1 Nov. 2019.
  3. 1 2 "Senegalese Photographer Omar Victor Diop's Regal Portraiture". Jenkins Johnson Gallery. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  4. 1 2 Buggenhagen, Beth (May 2017). "If You Were in My Sneakers: Migration Stories in the Studio Photography of Dakar‐Based Omar Victor Diop". AnthroSource. 33: 38–50. doi:10.1111/var.12120. hdl: 2022/21807 .
  5. Mark Sealy. "Omar Victor Diop: Black Subjects in the Frame". HENI Talks.
  6. 1 2 "Omar Victor Diop". Foundation Louis Vuitton. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  7. Zhang, Michael (17 September 2015). "Photographers Give Iconic Hollywood Movie Shots an African Remake". PetaPixel. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  8. O’Hagan, Sean (11 July 2015). "Omar Victor Diop: 'I want to reinvent the heritage of African studio photography'". The Observer. ISSN   0029-7712 . Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  9. "Omar Victor Diop Captures the Beauty and Resilience of Refugees in 'Hopeful Blues'". ELLE. 17 November 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  10. "Une exposition de photos présente les réfugiés sous un nouveau jour - Le HCR collabore avec la Fondation Annenberg". UNHCR Afrique. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  11. "Striking images of black struggle". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  12. 1 2 "Omar Victor Diop- Exhibitions". MAGNIN-A. 1 November 2019.
  13. "Radical Revisionists: Contemporary African Artists Confronting Past and Present". Moody Center for The Arts. 11 November 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  14. Exhibit: The Luminous Worlds of Omar Victor Diop Sunday, July 31, 2022. The Complete Martha's Vineyard Calendar. https://calendar.vineyardgazette.com/event/exhibit_8645
  15. "El Moro". Brooklyn Museum. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  16. "Ken". Tang Museum. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  17. "Juan de Pareja and Ayuba Suleiman Diallo". Block Museum of Art. 25 January 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  18. "Omar Victor Diop - Biography". MAGNIN-A. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  19. "omar victor diop – elaine harris productions" (in French). Retrieved 18 February 2024.