James Barnor

James Barnor takes over Les Chambres with a selection of 80 photographs tracing his career between Ghana and the United Kingdom. Each of the three rooms reveals a different facet of his work. The first focuses on his early years in Accra, where he captured the social and political fervour that led to Ghana’s independence in 1957. The second presents his studio portraits taken in his Ever Young studio in Jamestown, then in London, and finally in his second studio X23, on his return to Accra. The third room explores his years in London, where he documented Swinging London for Drum magazine. Celebrating a positive and dynamic vision of West Africa in a context of emancipation, Barnor was one of the first photographers to use colour photography and introduce it in Africa. His work forms a precious visual archive of diasporic identities in the 20th century.

In collaboration with Galerie Clémentine de la Féronnière (Paris)

EVER YOUNG
1947–1980

Ghana (1929)