Omar Victor Diop

Omar Victor Diop, B. 1980, Dakar,Senegal. Lives and works between Paris and Dakar.

Diop developed an interest in photography at an early age. As a child, he was nourished by the masterpieces of Afro-Caribbean literature, and by characters such as "Segou" by the author Maryse Condé, who go from being a "foreigner" to a "notable" in a given society. OmarVictor Diop sees this journey as representative of his own, one in which he has found himself on the side of minorities who need to learn from models of adaptation to different contexts and new ways of being.
A graduate of the Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Paris, he first worked forBritish American Tobacco Africa. However, he put an end to a career incorporate communication to devote himself fully to his career as an artist, andhad great success at the Rencontres de Bamako, biennial of African photographyin 2011.

Omar Victor Diop is distinguished by a work that combines visual arts, fashion and photographic portraiture. He is particularly fond of mixing photography with other art forms, including textile design, fashion design and creative writing to bring his inspiration to life. For him, art is the only dialogue that will never cease, a dialogue that is constantly inspired by those who redefine and choose their future lives, convinced that this is the only way to get out of the ordinary and leave a real mark on people.
In his first series entitled Futur du beau, Omar Victor Diop hijacks consumer goods and garbage to dress his models while questioning standards of beauty and elegance. This was followed by the Studio des Vanités series in 2013, which portrays a creative, ambitious and urban African generation. He captures the lifestyle and diversity of modern African societies. He was then inspired by the great historical African photographers, Mama Casset, Seydou Keïta, Malick Sidibé, as well as the famous designer Jean-Paul Goude. From 2014, withDiaspora, Omar Victor Diop puts himself on stage by re-enacting portraits of African notables who have marked history. This series marks the beginning of an international consecration. The Liberty series (2017) evokes and juxtaposes key moments of Black protests, events that are certainly distinct in time, geography and scope, but which the photographer places in a common chronology, that of a quest for freedom that is too often scorned. These representations are a tribute to those who aspire to freedom and dignity.
Omar Victor Diop's work connects the history and modernity of African societies: "It has been exactly ten years since I picked up a camera withthe intention of showing the struggle of my people, their moments of pride, their altruism, their incredible diversity and their capacity to adapt.
In his new series, Allegoria, the young Senegalese photographer begins a new chapter that addresses the issue of the environment and the importance of theclimate challenges facing the African continent. In 15 allegorical photographs, the artist embodies the humanity that must protect life; humanity surrounded byfloral and animal species that will soon be extinct; humanity again, concerned not to see biodiversity only visible in natural history textbooks.

Collections:

Brooklyn Museum, New York, USA
Minneapolis Institute of Art, Mineapolis, USA
High Museum of Art, Atlanta, USA
Vitra Design Museum, Germany
Collection Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris, FranceGetty Museum, Los Angeles, USA
Getty Museum, Los Angeles
FOMU, Antwerp, Belgium
Deutsche Börse Photography Collection, Frankfurt, Germany