MALICK SIDIBÉ
SUPERFLY PHOTOGRAPHS OF JOY

Malian-born photographer, Malick Sidibé is best known for his spirited and radiant pictures of celebration and joy. He worked mainly in black and white, and prolifically documented young people in elegant get-up. Perhaps his most charming work is his depiction of the burgeoning pop scene and nightlife of the Malian capital. Against backdrops in studios or at various events, Sidibé would match and clash the patterned backdrops with his sitters’ outfits and poses.

Sidibé’s humble background began with shepherding for his father. By age 10 he entered school, and early on in his education, it became apparent he was a gifted artist. Particularly in illustration, which was recognised by the French colonial administration. At16, he enrolled in the École des Artisans Soudanais — now Institut National des Arts — in Bamako. Around 1954, Sidibé had his first portrait taken by the renowned African photographer, Baru Koné. It was through Koné that he learned the art of photographic composition. This would ignite a passion for the medium.

Beginning his photographic story with a Brownie Flash, the artist accumulated various commissions with West African clientele. His commissions were sweeping, including: studio portraits, weddings, baptisms, surprise parties, pictures of railroads, highways and architectural construction. Alongside shooting pictures, he also became known for repairing cameras in Mali and neighbouring countries.

With the private commissions, Sidibé grew as a photographer both in recognition and craftsmanship. In 1962, he began photographing national, cultural, political and artistic events — for example the annual Semaine nationale de la Jeunesse and youth week. After carving his own career in photography, he eventually became known as ‘the eye of Bamako’ with his monochromatic images of Malian youth and the revolutionary African zeitgeist.

Malick Sibidé Les faux agents du FBI, 1974

‘It’s a world, someone’s face, when I capture it, I see the future of the

world.’

— Malick Sidibé

At present, BBC Four are showing a documentary retrospect of the artist's life, titled Dolce Vita Africana. Directed by Cosima Spender, the documentary follows the photographer as he revisits many of the locations in his iconic photographs of Malian culture in the 60s and 70s. There are also featured interviews with some of his subjects, looking back upon their formative years in Bamako.

1998 to 2009 Sidibé was commissioned to shoot fashion photographs for magazines such as Vogue, Elle, Cosmopolitan, and the New York Times Magazine. And in the 21st century, he further enhanced and experimented his artistic practice with a number of works intended for international viewing, namely Vues de Dos series, which translates as ‘back views’. Following his international success, this series continued to push photographic genre, playing with urban symbolism and the aesthetics of the body. His portraits of friends, neighbours and family members echo the body compositions of movie stars exiting a scene. According to scholarly research, Sidibé began developing this pose as early as the 1960s. The idea behind photographing a sitter’s back is that it’s a visual challenge of established conventions — turning your back on the old way of doing things as it were.

Malick Sidibé Les amis dans la même tenue, 1972

The photographic legacy of Malick Sidibé lives on as a chronicler of Malian progressivism. Mali gained its independence in 1960 and suddenly everything opened up. Pop music exploded, animating African culture. Mali suddenly shifted from an undisturbed, closed cultural community, to having been influenced by Western culture — its music, fashion and film. The sense of freedom and expression is boldly communicated through Sidibé’s oeuvre, himself declaring ‘music freed us’. He wanted to photograph the roots of Mali, the changing times and influences of Western culture; and above all else, he wanted to show the joys of music and celebration, of people expressing themselves.