Africanesse, by Angèle Etoundi Essamba at Doyle Wham

Doyle Wham is the UK's first and only contemporary African photography gallery. The gallery was founded in October 2020 with an itinerant programme of physical and digital exhibitions. Doyle Wham launched its first permanent location in Shoreditch, London, in February 2022. The gallery exhibits both emerging and established artists from Africa and across the African diaspora. The intersection of photography and culture, including fashion, art and music, is a particular focus of the gallery's programme.

Doyle Wham is presenting Africanesse: the UK’s first solo exhibition of renowned Cameroonian artist Angèle Etoundi Essamba. The exhibition showcases Essamba’s groundbreaking series of vintage silver gelatin prints: black and white photographs of non-professional models, who range from family members to friends and acquaintances of the artist, to acquaintances she encountered on the streets of Amsterdam. Under the artist’s loving gaze, Black skin itself becomes the subject of the collection, questioning the traditional parameters of portraiture. The exhibited artworks were hand-developed by the artist between 1985 and 2006, and are the last in her possession. In the artist’s own words:

I have always believed that black and white photography has a special, timeless power, lending itself intensely to imagination and containing an undeniable mystery. In 1985, I felt compelled to explore this mystery more deeply, leading me to create my first darkroom. It was a laborious process. I converted a storage unit myself, and for the next twenty years, I was engrossed in my darkroom practice. I spent weeks at a time on the development of each artwork, from preparing the baths, to choosing the right paper, then developing, stopping, fixing, rinsing, and drying each print in turn. Finally, the breathtaking moment when the image arose out of the bath was one of pure enjoyment and magic.

Angèle Etoundi Essamba was born in 1962 in Douala, Cameroon. She was educated in France and graduated from the School of Photography of Amsterdam where she lives and works today. In 2016, she was awarded the 'National Knight of the Order of Valor' by the President of the Republic of Cameroon, and in 2022, she had the honour of representing Cameroon at the 59th Venice Biennale.

Doyle Wham is dedicated to celebrating photography in all its forms and to advancing the contemporary African photography market through regular exhibitions and events, the introduction of new artists, and the development of a robust collector-base.