Omar Victor Diop is a self-taught Senegalese photographer whose conceptually-rich work is in demand around the world. He lives and works in Dakar.
Early life and education
Omar Victor Diop was born in Dakar, Senegal. He is the youngest of six, and his parents valued education as a means to pursue opportunity. He and his siblings attended optimal schooling from a young age, which resulted in a career in finance and corporate communications. He studied at the ESCE International Business School in Paris before working at Ernst & Young as an analyst, and then with British American Tobacco in the African international relations department. After a year-long sabbatical from corporate life, Diop made a shift towards a career in the Arts. His debut project, Fashion 2112, The Future of Beauty, was a series of photographs which was shown at the Pan African Exhibition of the African Biennale of Photography in Bamako, Mali. The success and recognition of this project resulted in Diop's attention to photography exclusively.
Work
Though Diop began his career in communications, by 2010 he had moved into the highly active territory of fashion photography. Prior to this, he had experimented in landscape photography, and later worked for fashion lines Bantu Wax and Adama Paris, among others. By September 2013, he had produced 70 percent of the commercial advertising market in Dakar. While he continues to work in the commercial field, his studio practice lies in the style of Fine Art portraiture; often self-portraiture. He produces work in series, and, much like Malian photographer Seydou Keïta, continues in the tradition of African studio photography.
A Self-Portrait Series in which Diop recreates 15th and 16th century European paintings of educated, stylish, and confident historical figures of the African diaspora. Diop plans to widen Project Diaspora’s scope to Asia, the Americas and the Middle East.
A collaboration with the French-born American photographer Antoine Tempé. Consisting of 20 photographs, this series is based on iconic moments of popular American and French movies while replacing their subjects with individuals from Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire.
Exhibitions
Diop has participated in numerous exhibitions internationally, including:
Group Exhibitions
Radical Revisionists: Contemporary African Artists Confronting Past and Present, Moody Center for the Arts, Houston, Texas
