Sanlé Sory

In 1957, a teenager from a small village arrived in the Burkinabé city of Bobo-Dioulasso. Struck by the importance of ID pictures in this urban setting – and impressed by the prices photographers taking them could command – he learned the trade of shooting and processing photographs. Three years later, the same year Burkina Faso gained full independence from France, seventeen-year-old Sanlé Sory opened his own photo studio, Volta Photo.

Over the following three decades, Sory became one of the most renowned photographers in West Africa, respected for documenting slices of life in a rapidly changing social and political landscape. Along with the distinctive ID photos and laid-back outtakes he captured in his own studio, Sory was a dedicated chronicler of his city’s nightlife, creating a visual record of youth culture in Burkina Faso’s early post-colonial days.

This stunning book, the first monograph on Sory’s work, features more than two hundred of his arresting black-and-white photographs, including both studio portraits and nightlife photography. The book’s imagery is complemented by insightful texts, including an essay from Sory reflecting on his life and career. Created in close collaboration with the artist, Sanlé Sory is not only an essential volume for fans and collectors, but an immersive visual journey that transports readers into the exciting, vibrant world of post-colonial West Africa.

Title: Sanlé Sory
Photographer: Sanlé Sory
Author: Florent Mazzoleni 
Text Contributions: Taous Dahmani, Hiroshi Egaitsa, Charlotte Flint, Esther Hien, David Hill, Nicolas Niarchos, and Aurélia Niat Toundji
Publisher, Year: Phaidon, October 2026
Format: Hardback,
Size, Pages: 250mm x 250mm, 248 pages
ISBN: 9781837292547