Joana Choumali

Joana Choumali (born 1974) is a freelance photographer based in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.[1] She uses photography to explore issues of identity and the diversity of African cultures.[2]

Joana Choumali
Born
Joana Choumali

1974
Abidjan
NationalityIvory Coast
Known forPhotography
Websitejoanachoumali.com

Her 2014 series, Hââbré, The Last Generation, documents the last generation of scarified Africans.[3]

In 2019 she was awarded the Prix Pictet for her series Ça va aller (It will be OK).

Life and work

Choumali was born and raised in Abidjan. After attending local international schools, she studied Graphic Arts in Casablanca and worked as an art director in an advertising agency before starting her photography career. Her style includes conceptual portraiture, mixed media and documentary. Much of her work focuses on Africa, her assumptions about the diversity of cultures around her, and her expanding conceptions of the world.[2]

As a child, Choumali would travel to Adaou, a small town in the southeast, to visit her grandmother, a farmer and trader. She often felt a cultural disconnect as they did not speak the same language or share life experiences. After her grandmother died in 2001, Choumali lamented losing part of her family history and questioned her identity as an African.[4] This experience inspired her 2014 portrait series, "Resilients", which documents young, professional African women who also struggled with connecting to their family's traditional past.[5] The only requirement was that the women had to wear traditional clothing already worn by their grandmother or an older female relative, emphasizing the link between past and present.[4]

Choumali used to be fascinated seeing people of different social origins proudly displaying their facial scarification across the Ivory Coast, but the practice is dying out. Choumali's 2014 work, Hââbré, the Last Generation, documents the last generation of scarified Africans. “Hââbré” means “writing”, “sign” and “scarification”; this one word signifies all three notions in Kõ, a language from Burkina Faso. Most of the people photographed emigrated from Burkina Faso a long time ago, but the scarification reminds them of their home country and their past. The project gathers their testimonies and looks at their integration into Ivoirian society.[6]

Publications
  • Hââbré, the Last Generation. Fourthwall, 2016. ISBN 978-0-9922404-9-3. With an essay by Azu Nwagbogu.
  • Bitter Chocolate Stories. Netherlands: Paradox, 2017. By Choumali and Marijn Heemskerk.

Exhibitions
  • Hââbré, the Last Generation, Skin Deep, the Troppenmuseum of World Cultures, Amsterdam, 2014
  • Hââbré, the Last Generation, Photoquai Biennale, "We are family" Quai Branly Museum, and Eiffel Tower, Paris, 2015[7]
  • Résilientes, Photolux Festival, Sacro e profano, Lucca, Italy, 2015[8]
  • Hââbré, the Last Generation, solo exhibition, 50 Golborne Gallery, London, 2016[9]
  • Rencontres de Bamako festival, Bamako, Mali, 2017[10]

Awards
  • 2014: LensCulture Emerging Talents Awards, for Hââbré, the Last Generation[11]
  • 2014: POPCAP '14 Prize Africa, for Hââbré, the Last Generation[12][13]
  • 2016: Magnum Foundation Emergency Fund, for the series "Sissi Barra"[14]
  • 2016: Fourthwall book Award, for Hââbré, the Last Generation[15]
  • 2019: Prix Pictet, for her series Ça va aller (It will be OK)[16]

References
  1. Staff, Guardian (5 July 2019). "Prix Pictet 2019 shortlist – photo essay". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-11-13 – via www.theguardian.com.
  2. "Joana Choumali". World Press Photo. Retrieved 2018-08-21.
  3. "PHOTOS. La scarification racontée dans le projet photographique de Joana Choumali". Le Huffington Post. 27 September 2014. Retrieved 2018-08-22.
  4. Richardson, Whitney. "Young Africans, Wrapped in Tradition". The New York Times. Retrieved 2017-03-11.
  5. "Joana Choumali: Giving women back their roots". CNN Style. Retrieved 2018-08-22.
  6. "Joana Choumali: "Hââbré, the Last Generation"". The Leica Camera Blog. 2015-02-04. Retrieved 2017-03-11.
  7. "Photoquai 2015 - Les photographes - Joana Choumali". www.photoquai.fr. Retrieved 2017-03-11.
  8. "Joana Choumali | Resilients - Photoluxfestival". Photoluxfestival. 2016-04-11. Retrieved 2017-03-11.
  9. "Joana Choumali: Hââbré". 50Golborne. Retrieved 2017-03-11.
  10. "Joana Choumali and Musa Nxumalo among the stars of the 11th Rencontres de Bamako – British Journal of Photography". British Journal of Photography. Retrieved 2018-08-21.
  11. LensCulture. "LensCulture Emerging Talents 2014". LensCulture. Retrieved 2017-03-11.
  12. "POPCAP 2014". CAP Prize. Retrieved 2018-08-22.
  13. "piclet.org Prize Africa 14". popcap14.picturk.com. Retrieved 2018-08-22.
  14. "Time Exclusive: Magnum Emergency Fund Announces 2016 Grantees". Time. Retrieved 2017-03-11.
  15. "Hââbré, The Last Generation - Fourthwall Books". Fourthwall Books. Retrieved 2017-03-11.
  16. O’Hagan, Sean (13 November 2019). "Joana Choumali wins 2019 Prix Prictet photography prize". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-11-13 – via www.theguardian.com.
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