Born in 1980, Dakar, Senegal.
Lives and works between Paris and Dakar.
Omar Victor 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 those in Ségou by the author Maryse Condé, who go from being “foreigners” to “notables” within a given society. Omar Victor 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 École Supérieure de Commerce de Paris, he first worked for British American Tobacco Africa. However, he eventually put an end to a career in corporate communication to devote himself fully to his artistic practice, achieving significant success at the Rencontres de Bamako, the African photography biennial, in 2011.
Omar Victor Diop is distinguished by a body of 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, in order to bring his inspirations to life. For him, art is the only dialogue that will never cease—a dialogue constantly nourished by those who redefine and choose their future lives, convinced that this is the only way to step outside the ordinary and leave a lasting mark.
In his first series, entitled Futur du Beau, Omar Victor Diop repurposes consumer goods and waste 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 lifestyles and diversity of contemporary African societies. He was then inspired by major African studio photographers such as Mama Casset, Seydou Keïta, and Malick Sidibé, as well as by the designer Jean-Paul Goude.
From 2014, with Diaspora, Omar Victor Diop places himself on stage by re-enacting portraits of African notables who have marked history. This series marks the beginning of his international recognition. The Liberty series (2017) evokes and juxtaposes key moments of Black protest—events that are distinct in time, geography, and scope, but which the photographer brings together within a common chronology: that of a struggle for freedom that is too often denied. These representations pay 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 with the 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 Senegalese photographer begins a new chapter addressing environmental issues and the urgency of climate challenges facing the African continent. In fifteen allegorical photographs, the artist embodies humanity that must protect life; humanity surrounded by floral and animal species that are on the verge of extinction; and again humanity, concerned that biodiversity may soon exist only in natural history textbooks.
Collections
Brooklyn Museum, New York, USA
Minneapolis Institute of Art, Mineapolis, USA
High Museum of Art, Atlanta, USA
Frac Aquitaine, Bordeaux, France
Tang Museum at Skidmore College, USA
Vitra Design Museum, Germany
Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, Illinois, USA
Collection Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris, France
Musée de la Photographie de Saint-Louis, Senegal
Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, USA
Pizzuti Collection, Colombus, Ohio, USA
Mott-Warsh collection, Flint, Michigan, USA
Collection Agnès b., Paris, France
C.A.A.C - The Pigozzi Collection, Geneva, Switzerland
JP Morgan Chase collection, New York, USA
Block Museum, Chicago, USA
Dustin Yellin collection, New York, USA
Collection Farida et Henri Seydoux, Paris, France
Collection Jean Gabriel Mitterand, Paris, France
LAC Lambert Art Collection, Geneva, Switzerland
Collection Lambert – Musée d’art contemporain, Avignon, France
Department of Political Science of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA
FENIX Museum, Rotterdam, Netherlands
Fitchburg Art Museum, Fitchburg, USA
Harn Museum of Art, Gainesville, USA
Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art - Northwestern University, Evanston, USA
The Moller Collection, Oslo, Norway
Museo Sa Bassa Blanca - Fundación Yannick y Ben Jakober, Alcudia, Spain
North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, USA
Sherman Centre for Culture and Ideas, Sidney, Australia
Getty Museum, Los Angeles, USA
FOMU, Antwerp, Belgium
Deutsche Börse Photography Collection, Frankfurt, Germany
