I was in Niamey in late May 2014 when the Nigerien photographer Philippe Koudjina Ayi passed away . He was 75 years old. I had often heard him spoken about but had never met him. I attended his funeral on June 2nd, 2014. Leaving the Christian cemetery in Niamey, every photographer from the area was there, silent, dignified. I knew almost all of them from workshops in 2012 and 2013 at the Franco-Nigerien Jean Rouch Cultural Center. All of them had once crossed paths with Ayi, a freelance Nigerien photographer who had become disabled and nearly blind at the end of his life. We are here to honor his memory. But how?
A famous chronicler of the wild Niamey nights of the ‘60s and ‘70s, Ayi produced a remarkable body of work, partly eclipsed by the growing fame of Malian photographers like Malick Sidibé and Seydou Keïta.
I returned to Niger in February 2015 as part of a new project with several partners—including the association Contrechamps, the Franco-Nigerien Jean Rouch Cultural Center, Leica and Switzerland—in order to pay tribute to this great unknown photographer over the course of two weeks with a selection of young Nigerien photographers. During this workshop, each student produced a series based on a theme of the era: parties, nightlife, moments of shared happiness, studio portraits and so on. Each series serves as a tribute to Ayi and as an artist’s vision of the many facets of contemporary Niger. «Totems» (Apsatou Bagaya), «Les nuits d’Oumarou» (Oumarou Kadry), «Monolithes» (Souley Abdoulaye), «Niamey blues» (Dourfaye Zourkalleyni), «Faces» (Tagaza Djibo) and «Rythmes urbains» (Ousmane Ibrahim) are affecting and politically engaged works from a young generation in homage to the father of Nigerien photography.
I cannot say whether or not Ayi would have appreciated this homage. But I am certain that he would have been proud that we’re talking about his country and Nigerien photography. He remains the only Nigerien photographer to have his work exhibited at the Bamako photo biennale.
EXHIBITION
Koudjina en héritages
From May 9th to June 20th, 2015
Centre culturel franco-nigérien Jean Rouch
Niamey – BP 11413
Niger
Opening reception on May 8th, 2015
www.ccfnjeanrouch.org
