Untitled
- Artist: Samuel Fosso
- Date: 1979
- Medium: Photograph, gelatin silver print on paper
- Dimensions: image: 149 x 149 mm
- Museum: Tate Modern
- Collection record: Tate Modern website
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About this artwork
This is the “Untitled” by Samuel Fosso, created in 1979. The piece is a black‑and‑white gelatin silver print that captures Fosso himself, standing in a simple studio set‑up. You’ll see a dark‑clad figure with a plain shirt and trousers, holding a bag against a curtain‑backed backdrop. The photograph feels intimate yet authoritative, a self‑portrait that asserts presence while hinting at cultural identity.
Fosso, a Nigerian-born artist born in 1958, uses the stark contrast of the silver print to foreground posture and gesture. The close‑up framing draws attention to the subtle tension in his stance—an exploration of identity, society, and the role of the artist. Though the work is only about 149 mm square, its formal clarity and powerful silence invite viewers to linger and consider the everyday in the extraordinary.
See it in person
Untitled is in the collection of Tate Modern on Bankside, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
