Samuel Fosso wins the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize 2023

Samuel Fosso has been announced as the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize 2023 winner at a special ceremony at The Photographers’ Gallery in London on 11 May 2023. The prestigious prize, in partnership with the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation, aims to recognise artists whose projects have made the most significant contribution to international contemporary photography in the past 12 months.

Fosso was awarded the Prize for his retrospective exhibition at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris of photographs that are part of his iconic series, as well as lesser known works, archival material and previously unpublished images taken throughout his career of almost 50 years. An exhibition showcasing all four shortlisted artists is currently on show at The Photographers’ Gallery until 11 June 2023.

Samuel Fosso wins the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize 2023

Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize 2023 at The Photographers’ Gallery © Heather Shukerv

Raised in Nigeria, Fosso fled the Biafran War as a young boy, and in 1972 was taken in by an uncle in Bangui in the Central African Republic. In 1975, at the age of thirteen, Fosso opened his Studio Photo Nationale. Along with his commercial work, Fosso began a series of self-portraits. In them, Fosso plays the role of leading historical figures, including Martin Luther King, Angela Davis and Haile Selassie, aiming to demonstrate photography’s role in the construction of myths.

Fosso’s work has been exhibited in major international venues including the Centre National de la Photographie in Paris, Tate Modern and National Portrait Gallery in London and the Guggenheim Museum and Museum of Modern Art in New York.

The jury of the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize 2023 included Director of Photo Elysee in Switzerland Natalie Herschdorfer, artist Mahtab Hussain, Head of Contemporary Photography at Instituto Moreira Salles in Brazil Thyago Nogueria, Director of Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Anne-Marie Beckmann, and Shoair Mavlian, Director of The Photographers’ Gallery, London, as voting chair.