Project Statement:
La Sape, which stands for Société des Ambianceurs et des Personnes Élégantes, or the Society of Ambiance Makers & Elegant People, is a fashion subculture in the cities of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo. Someone who follows La Sape is known as a “Sapeur,” or “Sapeuse” for a woman. These are a series of portraits of people who follow La Sape in various districts across the city of Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo.
Artist Bio:
In Jan 2014, Tariq Zaidi gave up a senior corporate position to pursue his passion of capturing the dignity, purity and soul of people within their environments.
His work focuses on documenting social issues, inequality, endangered communities and traditions in various societies across the globe.
His latest work — from Angola, Brazil, Cambodia, Chad, Ethiopia, Georgia, Indonesia, Mongolia, North Korea and South Sudan — has been featured in The Guardian, BBC, CNN, National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, Der Spiegel Magazine, El Pais, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, GEO Magazine, National Geographic Traveler Magazine, The Telegraph, Marie Claire, Conde Nast Traveler Magazine, The Daily Mail, The Mirror, The China Daily, The Times of London and many more.
He has won many international photography awards, shown his work in over 40 international exhibitions and completed commissions in Sierra Leone, Cuba, Russia, Cambodia, Uganda, UAE, Japan and Indonesia.
Tariq works as a freelance photographer based out of London, UK. He is currently working on a long-term personal project developing a visual anthology capturing the dignity of mankind in some of the poorest communities in the world.
His work is represented by Zuma Press (USA), Caters News Agency (UK) and Getty Images (UK).
