Émile-Samory Fofana: The French-Malian photographer capturing unlicensed mythologies

Émile-Samory Fofana, the 28-year-old Parisian-born, Mali-rooted multidisciplinary artist, is no ordinary creative. A designer and artist, Émile-Samory’s work melds his West African heritage, Muslim faith, European influence and unrelenting curiosity for ritual through all of his work. His latest groundbreaking collaboration with Adidas – a ‘functional football qamis’ designed for both the pitch and the prayer mat – epitomises his talent for bridging the realms of sports, spirituality and art with ingenuity and grace. 

Émile-Samory’s creative journey began during a transformative trip to his homeland. “After graduating high school, I spent a year working in Mali and was truly inspired by the country’s craftsmanship there,” Émile-Samory tells Dazed MENA, explaining that seeing Badian Camara work in his atelier in Bamako was particularly moving. “When I came back to France to pursue my studies, it made sense for me to turn to art and study design. In the meantime, I joined the national theatre of Strasbourg and my career as both a comedian and artist kicked off simultaneously.”

Reflecting on his year, a puzzle of fortuitous moments finally fit together for Émile-Samory. “During my time in West Africa, I was quite amused to see how they twisted garments and made them into cultural objects,” the artist shares. At the time, he had already been intent on an imagerie focused on sports and performance. “When I saw a Manchester qamis at the Grand Marche de Bamako – it just clicked! I started doing my own bootleg that I was selling in my neighbourhood and started taking pictures with youth wearing it.” 

The reimagined garments were met with true success, with local football fans rushing to sport their own qamis. It wasn’t long before Adidas reached out to Émile-Samory and requested he collaborate to design his own iteration with the brand. All-white and full-length, the functional garments are adorned with gold Adidas accents, and the design has already visited the pages of GQ Middle East and VERSUS magazine.

Émile-Samory’s art is influenced by the artist’s Malian heritage and French upbringing alike. “My country – Mali – is a very special territory as it’s both in West and Northern Africa,” Émile-Samory elucidates. “As my work is focused on archiving and collecting cultural testimonies, I’m always moving between cultural legacy and fiction, aiming to be at the junction.” The young artist refers to this convergence as ‘unlicensed mythologies’. “I also think that we’re products of our environments and in France, where I grew up and now live, the impact of immigration is huge on the culture, so that’s also infused in my work.” 

Creatively, Fofana is moved and nourished by all things ceremonial: “Gestures, symbols, garments, chants,” he clarifies. “From NBA tunnel walkouts to liturgy and worship performed by religious groups, the act of ceremony performed at a community level is truly inspiring for me.” With the community-centred practices and collective effervescence inherent in sports like football, it’s no surprise that such a fascination launched Émile-Samory where he needed to be, into the world of design. “I’m also a huge fan of sports imagery, bootleg and counterfeit football shorts – more broadly everything that a small group of people can create to be spread at a larger scale,” Émile-Samory muses. “That’s what I mean by ‘unlicensed mythologies’.”

For Émile-Samory, the creative future of Southwest Asia and North Africa rests in the artists having control of their narratives. “My only hope is for artists coming from that region to have full ownership of their work, culture and vision,” Émile-Samory affirms. “For them to be leaders and not tokens. It’s a long overdue recognition, but I’m happy to see them granted more and more exposure, platforms, and opportunities and excited to see what’s next.”

Ultimately, the young multidisciplinary artist is hoping to create something that lasts – a decade-long project compiling images and cultural artifacts in a book, a meaningful counterpoint to the relentless pace of modern production. “There is beauty in taking time to create something meaningful in a world where you always have to work and deliver very fast.”