| September 14, 2006 |
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Kings of Africa
One  is a former police officer. Another graduated from Cambridge. Yet another serves as a university chancellor and the father of 60 children. But all are kings of Africa, and sometime between 1998 and 1991, each one agreed to sit for his portrait with photojournalist Daniel Lainé. During a dozen trips to the continent, which frequently brought the photographer to "the end of very bad roads," Lainé cajoled underlings, pursued entourages, and submitted to local etiquette and regal timetables in order to capture each sovereign's photo. The King of the Kuba kept him cooling his heels for three weeks; the Baba of Rey-Bouba made him wait eight days. In the case of the Sultan of Sokoto, Lainé snapped his image just days before the monarch died. The resulting portraits earned the photographer a 1998 Villa Medicis prize, a 1991 World Press Photo first prize, and enduring appreciation for his fascinating, complex body of work. (in Africa) |
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