Malick Sidibé

a renowned photographer from Mali

Malian photographer Malick Sidibé (1936-2016) bought his first camera, a Brownie Flash, in 1956 while working as an apprentice for Gérard Guillat in the nation’s capital of Bamako. Self-taught, Sidibé hit the scene, taking photographs at African events filled with teenagers coming of age at the same time that the country reached independence in 1960.

Whether photographing at parties or in his studio, Sidibé effortlessly captured the dignity, style, and pride of the first generation of post-colonial Malian men and women.

You go to someone’s wedding, someone’s christening, he told LensCulture in 2008, speaking of the renown he gained as a party photographer:

I was lucky enough at that time to be the intellectual young photographer with a small camera who could move around. The early photographers like Seydou Keïta worked with plate cameras and were not able to get out and use a flash. So I was much in demand by the local youth. Everywhere ... in town, everywhere! Whenever there was a dance, I was invited ... At night, from midnight to four A.M. or six A.M., I went from one party to another. I could go to four different parties. If there were only two, it was like having a rest. But if there were four, you couldn’t miss any. If you were given four invitations, you had to go. You couldn’t miss them. I’d leave one place, I’d take thirty-six shots here, thirty-six shots there, and then thirty-six somewhere else, until the morning.

Sometimes I would come back to parties where there had been a lot of people. Afterwards I had to develop the photos and print them out. Sometimes, right up to 6 in the morning, I would be at the enlarger. For the 6 x 6 films there was a contact printer, but the 24 x 36 had to be enlarged. So you had about 300 or 400 photos to print out. You could work in the morning, but, by Tuesday, the photos had to be ready for display. The proofs were pinned up outside my studio. Lots of people would come and point themselves out. “Look at me there! I danced with so-and-so! Can you see me there?” 
Even if they didn’t buy the photo, they would show it to their friends. That was enough for them. They had danced with a certain girl, and that was enough. I wasn’t happy, though. I wanted them to buy these photos! 

Taken between 1963 and 1989, the photographic cycle titled Mariage is a visual tribute to the quaint, enduringly tender appeal of traditional life in times of rapid historic and cultural changes. “This series of images is a circular installation,” explains Jack Shainman, whose gallery exhibited a selection of Sidibé’s lesser known works. “The individuals depicted are young couples on their wedding days. [..] He embraced change but was unafraid to capture traditionalism. His images broke down stigmas and supported universality – they captured the spirit of post-colonial liberation, but did not shy away from traditional customs. Most importantly, he did not try to construct images for a Western audience, but truly captured Bamako as it was swiftly developing its own modern identity.” The frames depict couples exchanging looks of unadulterated affection and displaying relaxed attitudes, stripped from the premeditated, polished façades often encountered in conventional wedding photography.

Capturing his subjects in the midst of ceremonial action, Sidibé builds the narrative of a specific time and space that empowered a culture to dictate its own stories. “Being photographed by Malick was a rite of passage, and for many, they also wanted him to capture significant life moments. While his individual images are strong on their own, these groupings really allow you to get a sense of how embedded he was in the community,” Shainman explains.

“Malick immortalised his subjects at their best,” he concludes. “These wedding portraits, for instance, capture individuals as they wanted to present themselves on one of the most important days of their lives.'“

Excerpt from Irina Baconsky’s interview in Another.