In one in every of his well-known self-portraits, Senegalese photographer and artist Omar Victor Diop wears a three-piece go well with and opulent paisley tie, able to blow a yellow plastic whistle. This fastidiously staged picture evokes the reminiscence of Frederick Douglass, a former fugitive slave who rose to develop into a number one abolitionist, activist, writer and Nineteenth-century Orator and the primary African American to be nominated as Vice President. USA.

Diop is not any stranger to depicting the ache and hope of black individuals around the globe.In his work, which contains historic references and costumes, he highlighted the essential position Black and African figures in world historical past, have fun dignity African immigrants and refugees, woven collectively The historical past of black protest from Selma to the Soweto rebellion in South Africa, and Checked the impression Impacts of local weather change in Africa and the worldwide South.

Diop weaves collectively previous and current by means of daring imagery, inspecting the interaction between African and diasporic experiences.

“I am fascinated and amazed that Africa continues to be current in every little thing African Individuals do; they do not even notice it,” mentioned Diop, who lives and works in Dhaka and Paris. “Typically you see an African-American on a actuality TV present and also you occur to be watching your sisters and aunts as a result of these expressions – it is translated and mentioned in English, however she might be in Dakar, mentioned Wolof.”

Omar Victor Diop

In Diop’s 2015 Self-Portrait (Half 1) from the sequence “Diaspora Mission”, the artist imitates Frederick Douglass, essentially the most photographed man of his period. Douglass shot greater than 160 portraits, together with a circa 1855 daguerreotype (under), to problem adverse photographs of African Individuals.

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In Diop’s 2015 Self-Portrait (Half 1) from the sequence “Diaspora Mission”, the artist imitates Frederick Douglass, essentially the most photographed man of his period. Douglass shot greater than 160 portraits, together with a circa 1855 daguerreotype (under), to problem adverse photographs of African Individuals.

Diop is enthusiastic about constructing connections and neighborhood by means of his work, whereas additionally utilizing historical past to bridge the experiences of individuals of African descent. He mentioned that by highlighting figures like Douglass or occasions just like the Ladies’s Conflict in Nigeria, he hopes to not solely begin a dialog inside the subsequent technology but in addition deepen the connection between Africa and the diaspora.

“There are numerous inspiring tales that may have vital resonance on the African continent and vice versa,” he mentioned. “I believe there positively must be extra interplay. We do not know one another properly sufficient.”

Diop was born in Dhaka in 1980, his father is a licensed accountant and his mom is a lawyer. After learning finance in Senegal and France for a number of years and dealing in company communications in Dakar, Nairobi and Lagos, he grew to become a full-time artist greater than ten years in the past.

Self-taught Diop, whose work has been exhibited around the globe, attracts on the wealthy custom of West African studio portraiture practiced by artists reminiscent of Mama Casset (Senegal), Malick Sidibé (Mali) and Samuel Fosso (Nigeria). However his work is just not sure by the conventions of studio images: When he begins a undertaking, Diop obsessively reads about his topics, talks to historians, and even makes an attempt to copy the clothes decisions of his topics, such because the Reverend Martin Luther Dr. King Jr.’s go well with or Trayvon Martin’s hooded sweatshirt.

“Trendy photographs and trendy language are my instruments to get into the viewers’s thoughts,” he mentioned. “It creates a really engaging picture as a solution to disguise the heavy material I carry with me. It is also a method for me to have fun the reminiscences I carry with me.”

In early October, Diop introduced a brand new undertaking titled “over there,” explores the place of race and id in post-World Conflict II America.

Diop additionally plans to supply instructional supplies, together with books and video games, to have interaction younger African and diaspora audiences on points reminiscent of artwork and local weather change. He hopes to point out how their tales of battle and success are interconnected throughout centuries and continents.

“I firmly imagine that regardless of every little thing we encounter, Africa nonetheless has a spirit of resilience and excellence,” he mentioned.