STUDIO MICHEL KAMENI
A short selection of archive photos taken by Cameroonian photographer Michel Kameni, preserved
and disseminated by photographer and documentary filmmaker Benjamin Hoffman.
@studiokameni @benjaminhoffman
© Michel Kameni immortalized by Benjamin Hoffman in front of the curtain of his studio in 2018.
Michel Kameni was born in 1935 in Bafang, in western Cameroon, in the Bamileke region. He grew up destined to be a goatherd. Before independence, Michel Kameni moved to Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon. His uncle, a military photographer and former soldier in the French army, persuaded him to leave his village in western Cameroon and come to Yaoundé. After training with his uncle, he was hired by the French colonial administration to take photographs for the occupying army.
After independence, and encouraged by his uncle, he began an independent career as a street photographer. He then opened his Studio K.M. in Yaoundé in September 1963. Neighbors, city dwellers, farmers, travelers, families, lovers—all segments of society—passed before his lens until the 1980s, for portraits, ID photos for official documents (identity cards), and photos to commemorate special events.
Benjamin Hoffman, a documentary photographer and filmmaker, met him by chance during a trip to Cameroon. In Yaoundé for a documentary film, he found himself stuck in traffic near Michel Kameni's photo studio. Out of curiosity, he got out of the taxi and, accompanied by one of Michel Kameni's sons, discovered a collection of photographs and negatives representing an entire career as a portrait photographer.
These archives highlight the evolution and diversity of contemporary Yaoundé's clothing. This collection piqued Hoffman's interest. The two men became friends after a year spent trying to meet the now-retired photographer. Through Hoffman, Michel Kameni's work was given new life through exhibitions in Yaoundé and London in 2019 and 2020. Sadly, Michel Kameni succumbed to a lung infection at the end of May 2020.
DOCUMENTARY FILM: MICHEL KAMENI
Directed and documented by Benjamin Hoffman
Available on studiokameni.com
