Top 5 Quotes & Sayings by Malick Sidibe

Explore popular quotes and sayings by Malick Sidibe.
Last updated on April 15, 2025.
Malick Sidibe

Malick Sidibé was a Malian photographer noted for his black-and-white studies of popular culture in the 1960s in Bamako. Sidibé had a long and fruitful career as a photographer in Bamako, Mali, and was a well-known figure in his community. In 1994 he had his first exhibition outside of Mali and received much critical praise for his carefully composed portraits. Sidibé's work has since become well known and renowned on a global scale. His work was the subject of a number of publications and exhibited throughout Europe and the United States. In 2007, he received a Golden Lion Award for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice Biennale, becoming both the first photographer and the first African so recognized. Other awards he has received include a Hasselblad Award for photography, an International Center of Photography Infinity Award for Lifetime Achievement, and a World Press Photo award.

1936 - April 14, 2016
Man tried to imitate God by drawing; then we invented the photo.
Before I knew the camera, I knew about images. It's all about trying to make light with a pencil or with a crayon. It really helped me in the beginning, because I understood how light and shadow were working on an image.
People said if [I] was at a party, it gave it prestige. I would let people know I'd arrived by letting off my flash... You could feel the temperature rise right away. — © Malick Sidibe
People said if [I] was at a party, it gave it prestige. I would let people know I'd arrived by letting off my flash... You could feel the temperature rise right away.
It's all the same. It's the same face. We always look for an idea, for the same face, for the same position. There is no such thing as a European or an African photography. It's all the same thing.
I wanted to be the photographer of happiness.
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