Burkinabé Portraiture by Antoine Schneck

About

Born in 1963, Antoine Schneck lives in Paris. Portraiture has appealed to Schneck from his earliest interest in photography. His work is developed in series, over the course of journeys, desires, projects, always a meeting. In 2007, Antoine Schneck went to Burkina Faso to stay in a small village. He came back with more than 300 portraits. He then went on to do series in China and India, followed by Mali. Sitting on a chair in a white fabric tent, the subject stands out against a black background whilst Antoine Schneck, invisible, operates from the outside, a hole in the fabric with space for his camera lens. Detached from their bodies, without any accessories, these faces have the brute, expressive strength of a mask with a human dimension. He is represented by Galerie Berthet-Aittouarès.

I knew I wanted to work in very high quality portraiture. This is complex, you need a model, background, lighting, studio space… so complicated. I wanted to strip it back so I am just focusing on the face. It takes a long time to get this effect because when everything is gone I have to concentrate on making sure the face is perfect. Ah yes, yes they’re definitely supposed to be mask like.