Photo Souvenir

His eyes are affected by cataract, so Philippe Koudjina no longer takes any photographs. He was recently knocked down by a car, which is why he walks with crutches. His nickname was The Cheese, because he always asked people to put their faces in the smiling mode. A stack of cameras in his hovel recalls his past as a photographer, in the years following the independence of Niger, when the African continent looked forward with optimism and enjoyed itself with table soccer and the twist. Today, the negative films are wasting away. And still Koudjina is not a disillusioned man. He takes life as it comes. The express mailman delivers a package of his pictures, which he patiently autographs. Because that is what the Western art scene attaches value to. African colleagues like Seydou Keïta and Malick Sidibé earn big money with their work, which tries to cut a dash in museums and galleries from Paris to New York. Two admirers try to bring Koudjina to the attention of a rich collector, but for the present the old photographer will remain a pauper.