Leonce Raphael Agbodjélou
Benin


The “Egungun” project is a series of photographs of masked people representing divine ancestors of people who speak Yoruba. They appear at funerals to guide the deceased to the spirit world. They can also appear at any time to protect people from misfortune. Agbodjelou portrays subjects from street life, friends, family and study clients. The portraits are made up of individuals in indoor spaces, standing in brightly colored traditional Yoruba costumes on mud brick walls. In his series "Demoiselles de Porto-Novo", he focuses on the young citizens of Porto-Novo, wearing ceremonial or Vodun masks. In Untitled Triptych (from the Demoiselles series in Porto-Novo), he presents Portuguese-style colonial buildings as evidence of the colonial slave trade with Brazil.
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