Pierrot Men

I initially wanted to be a painter and pursued that for 17 years. In the thirdgrade of secondary school, a painter came to present his profession, and I decided to quit school to follow this path. My father, who was a merchant, would have preferred me to become a grocer like him. He then cut off my financial support, and I left home for the "big city," Antananarivo, with my childhood friend Léon Fulgence. Through a blood pact in a coffee plantation, we promised each other to become artists, with him being a painter and me a photographer. We experienced poverty and hunger in Antananarivo.

Upon returning to my hometown after the political events of 1972, I workedin the family grocery store. After some time, to demonstrate mydetermination to my father, I drew a fake banknote that he mistook for a real one. He was furious but also understood that I had artistic potential. After a few odd jobs, I was able to buy an enlarger and, in 1974, I opened my first photo laboratory, working on weddings, baptisms, and family photos to support my family. I used a Soviet Zenit E camera with a 50mm lens, which was a gift from my sister. My first camera was my father's old Kodak 6 x 9, which I used for a long time. I used contact sheets as models for my paintings.

At the same time, I developed my personal photos, following the footsteps of my African colleagues, Seydou Keita and Malick Sidibé. Today, I haverealized my dream, and I have been photographing for almost 50 years.