As part of the yearlong celebrations of the Sharjah World Book Capital 2019, and in recognition of the long-standing relationship between literature and photography, XPOSURE International Photography Festival 2019 is hosting the ‘Read, Write, Create Africa’ exhibition by Senegalese artist, Omar Victor Diop.

Through 10 stunning images of African women and men reading together, sharing a laugh over the passages of a book, or surrounded by thousands of books in ornate libraries, Diop has documented the importance of books and literature in shaping the African culture. His unique technique combining other forms of art, such as costume designing, styling and creative writing tastefully capture the beauty of books and their strong relationship with people.

The works on display are all in a unified size of 1090×1580 mm; each one presents its subjects from a different angle bringing fresh perspectives to the act of reading and the process in which knowledge is gained and shared. In one picture he shows the subject enjoying the company of a book, and in another, the same subject appears with the book on head, symbolic of discovery and the quest for truth.

With people and books as the main and only protagonists in every photograph, Diop offers a mosaic of facial expressions as a window into his subject’s characters. The self-taught artist makes interesting statements through each work, for instance, with the image of a woman replacing food in baskets with books.

Diop has brought an exhaustive spread of traditional African elements to create the background for his works. From their clothing to necklaces and earrings, viewers have plenty of cultural elements to observe, including the books they carry.

Diop was born in Dakar in 1980, where he lives. Since his early days, he developed an interest for photography and design, essentially as a means to capture the diversity of modern African societies and lifestyles. His body of work includes fine arts and fashion photography as well as advertising photography. He enjoys mixing his photography with other forms of art, such as costume designing, styling and creative writing. His work is interrogative and intriguing, prospective, yet a tad vintage and draws inspiration from Diop’s international uplifting, as well as his African visual heritage.