His work is focused on exploring African cities and their cultural diversity. Starting in 2006, he captures what he finds most striking about Johannesburg, Bamako, Nairobi, Cotonou, and Abidjan where he was born. His black-and-white photographs seek to distil the poetic, ethereal quality of Italo Calvino’s cities. Light-and-shadow play is a key feature of his work, heightening its impact.
For Léki Dago, light and shadow possess weight, mass and volume—they are able to keep secrets that only reveal themselves to the sharpest, most penetrating gaze. That which is “lost” in the shadows, retains as much importance as that which is illuminated. Léki Dago sees his wanderings as an integral part of his painstaking, finely balanced compositions, in this sense, he might be described as a flaneur. Léki Dago studied photography at Fine Art school in Abidjan/ Côte d’Ivoire. His work has been shown all over the world in numerous international exhibitions. His work is part of the permanent photographic collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Recent exhibitions include: 58th edition of the Venice Biennale at the Côte d’Ivoire Pavilion. Recent publication include: Rainy Days, with a text written by the Ivorian writer Véronique Tadjo, Eburnie editions, 2019, Mabati, published by the Goethe Institut of Nairobi and Native Intelligence, into the collection Contact Zones NRB, 2013. Ananias Léki Dago lives and works in Abidjan / Côte d’Ivoire.
Texts: Billy Kahora and Simon Njami.