Michel Kameni: Portraits of an Independent Africa
This exhibition features portraits by the Cameroonian studio photographer Michel Kameni (c.1935–2020) made at Studio KM in Yaoundé. The 55 prints featured were made during the 1960s and 1970s in the years following Cameroon’s independence.
From its founding in 1963, Studio KM attracted a cross-section of society. As a photographer, Kameni was particularly good at depicting the aspirations of the people who entered his studio. He collaborated with them to craft evocative nyanga (boasting, or bragging) photographs: images to send friends and loved ones or to document important relationships, events, or milestones.
Kameni’s portraits display what was most important to the individuals he photographed: personal and familial relationships, professional identities, national and cultural pride, and their sense of style. As a whole, these images provide a window into the daily lives and ambitions of people living in post-Independence Cameroon.
Michel Kameni: Portraits of an Independent Africa was organized by Phillip Prodger for Curatorial Exhibitions, Pasadena, California, in association with the Solander Collection.
Presentation of the exhibition at SCMA is made possible by the support of the Edith Stenhouse Bingham, class of 1955, Art Museum Fund; the Louise Walker Blaney, class of 1939, Fund for Exhibitions; and the Ann Weinbaum Solomon, class of 1959, Fund.