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In 2023 Autograph hosted Voyages, the first UK solo exhibition of works by Hélène Amouzou. Now, we’re pleased to share a selection of Amouzou’s work exploring questions such as: What does it mean to seek refuge? What does belonging feel like? What does it mean to live in limbo? What burden does the body carry as a result?
Produced over fifteen years, these hand printed photographs by the Togolese-born and Belgium-based artist are a crucial document of a migrant who has grappled with notions of freedom, exclusion, and bureaucracy – in an attempt to recapture her identity and sense of belonging.
The Autoportrait, Molenbeek series was created during a period when the artist was seeking asylum in Belgium, part of her two-decade long journey seeking safety and citizenship. In these charged portraits, Amouzou appears as an apparition amongst suitcases and the peeling floral wallpaper of a destitute attic: sitting, contemplating, standing, waiting. Amouzou’s elongated movements and extended exposures confront a sense of belonging and unbelonging, and a refusal of erasure.
Self-portraiture is a way of writing without words. My aim is to reveal the deepest parts of myself.
Hélène Amouzou
It is in defiance of the derogatory stereotypes and humiliating bureaucracy of the asylum system that Amouzou produces her work and creates an alternative official record of herself.
Bidisha Mamata
Amouzou’s most recent works capture her first journeys back to her homeland since she left in 1992. The below images feature Amouzou and her mother following their long-delayed reunion, and their new voyage to reconnect after such an extended period of time apart.
Hélène Amouzou (b.1969, Togo) has become widely known for her distinctive autoportraits that explore contemporary issues of people in exile and those that have been invisibilised. Drawing on experiences of migration, borders and displacement, her highly technical analogue processes are integral to her research and artistic experiments.
In 2014 she completed her studies in photography at the Sint-Jans-Molenbeek Academy of Drawing and Visual arts in Brussels. Amouzou’s works have been shown internationally including solo exhibitions at CONTACT Photography Festival, Toronto (2023), Centre Cultural Jacques Franck, Brussels (2022); The Women’s Darkroom Gallery New York (2022); FoMU, Antwerp (2021), Maison des Cultures de Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, Brussels (2009) amongst others; and within group exhibitions including at Photo Ireland (2023); FotoFest Biennale, Houston (2020/2022); S.M.A.K, Gent (2022); Les Rencontres d’Arles, Arles (2021); Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts, Brooklyn (2018); Musée du Quai Branly, Paris (2011); Hayward Gallery, London (2011) amongst others. Her works are part of collections including the Brooklyn Museum (USA), March Gallery (USA), S.M.A.K (Belgium), SMART (Belgium) and the Tropenmuseum (Netherlands). She lives and works in Belgium.
The artist discusses her deeply personal work within the context of migration, perseverance and the politics of (in)visibility
Read blog post | 10 min read
Find out more about the exhibition of Amouzou's work which was on display at Autograph in 2023
Find out moreBroadcaster Bidisha Mamata reflects on issues of displacement and exile in the distinctive imagery of Hélène Amouzou
Read blog post | 10 min readProfessor Mark Sealy on the spectral self-portraits of Hélène Amouzou
Banner image: Hélène Amouzou, from the series Autoportrait, Molenbeek [detail], 2007-2011. © and courtesy the artist.
Images on page: 1-9) Hélène Amouzou, from the series Autoportrait, Molenbeek, 2007-2011. © and courtesy the artist. 10-16) Hélène Amouzou, from the series Autoportrait, Liège, 2017-2020. © and courtesy the artist. 17-19) Hélène Amouzou, from the series Entre Temps, Togo, 2020-2021. © and courtesy the artist.
Other images on page: Hélène Amouzou. © Chrystel Mukeba.
Autograph is a place to see things differently. Since 1988, we have championed photography that explores issues of race, identity, representation, human rights and social justice, sharing how photographs reflect lived experiences and shape our understanding of ourselves and others.
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