SIXSIXSIX consists of 666 large-format Polaroid self-portraits (each 21.5 x 27 cm) produced in
an intensive process by Samuel Fosso with a small team in his Paris studio in 2015 and 2016.
Shot against thesame rich colored backdrop these striking photographs depart from Fosso's
earlier self-portraits through their understated and strippedback approach. Fosso's challenge
was to create 666 self-portraits each with a different bodily expression reminding us of the
link between his performances and photography.In Fosso's words: In this series there is
unhappiness and happiness misfortune and good fortune. I was very inspired by these two
aspects. SIXSIXSIX refers to the number of misfortune. By that I mean in terms of what I've
encountered in my life up to now. After my illness came the Biafra War millions of people died
and I was fortunate to be saved. I went to the Central African Republic where I experienced the
conflicts of 2014 in which I also could have died. [...] For all that I've been through God
has been with me and saved me. [...] In the end it's about buried emotions that we ourselves
create and about exorcizing my own resentment in the face of this situation. From 1976 to 2014
I have never been at peace in my life when faced with the actions of those who always sow
misfortune among children and innocents.
