Sanlé Sory was born in 1943 in Burkina Faso. He left his village of Naniagara, in the southern region of Banfora, in 1957 to settle in Bobo-Dioulasso, cultural and economic capital of what was then the colony of Upper Volta. He drew patterns for seamstresses in his home region. At that time, living in the city required having identity documents. After a train visit to Ouagadougou, the administrative capital, Sanlé Sory realizes that the photographer in charge of identity portraits earned a good living by exercising a profession new to him. He decided to devote himself to photography and to learn this profession that fascinated him. Young apprentice with Kodjo Adamako, a Ghanaian photographer, Sanlé Sory began his career photographing road accidents for the gendarmerie. He officiated in the room, before developing and shooting, then moving to medium format like most African photographers of his generation. A privileged witness to the rapid evolution of his country and his city, Sanlé expressed in images the frontal collision which then takes place between modern life and the traditions in his region of...
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