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SAPE
by Francesco Giusti
SAPE (Société des Ambianceurs et des Personnes Élégantes)
A portrait story of the members of the SAPE from Pointe-Noire, Republic of the Congo.
by Francesco Giusti
In Congo-Brazzaville SAPE is an old passion that has never stopped, not even during war years. At the arrival of the French in Congo at the beginning of 9oo, the mith of elegance was born among young people working for the settlers. In 1922, Andrè Grenard Matsoua, well-known for his resistance to the settlers, was the first Congolese to come back from Paris, well dressed like a true French “Monsieur”, greatly admired by all his fellow citizens. Today’s members of the SAPE consider themselves as artists and are respected and admired by the whole community. ” Sape is an art that is not referred to the means people have at their disposal. It’s a matter of harmony and matching colours”. Making up his own clothes, choosing the right accessories, surely answers a clothing code as well as the pleasure of being unique and original.
The members of the SAPE take a touch of glamour into their humble environment with their refined style and faultless clothes.
Everyone has his own repertory of gestures, marking him from all the others. Elegance is not the only important character. First of all, in fact, a true member of the SAPE is a gentleman and a pacifist. Every week-end the members of the SAPE, with their eccentric and amusing nicknames, gather in bars and fashionable dancing halls and parade in the streets among amused children and applauses of the passers-by. These extemporized and spontaneous parades are the expression of a urban culture looking for new reference parameters and codes such as no-violence and elegance. They reflect the wish of young people in particular not to be left apart by society.
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36 Responses to “SAPE”
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very cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Great job, and Belgian Congrats !
Meet you soon at your opening !
Congratulations! Very surprising series. A pleasure to watch.
Congrats!
Real Fashion photos. Superb!
Congratulations Francesco! Really cool shots.
Bravo!
Bravo pour le premier prix ! amplement mérité !!
Cela me rappelle mon voyage en Guinée… même atmosphère et même gout pour les SAPEs
You have an outstanding eye for composition and light. Congratulations. Mike Bizelli
this kicks the ass of anything i’ve seen in a fashion magazine. GREAT WORK.
Brilliant and inspiring.
Wow. This is truly a wonderful collection of images. I thoroughly enjoyed this! : )
Felicidades por tu premio. impresionante !
Felicidades por premio. Impresionante !
Hi Francesco, I would need to communicate with you directly please get in touch with me at info@simoneauguillaume.com
Great work…. phantastic idea. I really love it. Have a good time. Urs
I really dont mean to be a devils advocate here, congrats and all but I feel like these type of photos are a dejavu. I mean doesnt it remind you so much of Pieter Hugos work? What is new and unique about the style of photography here? I thought the judges would pick something that was new, fresh and not the norm.
Does anyone agree with me?
@Warren, I do and there is also a lack of narrative in my opnion. Although I do think they are strong photographs, the photographer owes alot to the subjects…
congrats !
Beautiful images
Finalmente un lavoro innovativo , bellissimo. A pleasure for my eyes, ironia sublime, classe, c’e tutto.
Chistopher, every photographer owes a lot to what is in the picture, no matter what is it. The difference is in how the person behind the camera know know how to move and direct the subject.
http://www.trolleybooks.com/bookSingle.php?bookId=118
Ha! so i was right, it was a deja vu
@Andrea, Do you think the judges knew about this book before?
I mean photographers take the same subject all the time, ie: war, nudity, landscape but this subject is so particular that it cant be done twice. Its like doing a book on the Hyena men again, it just wouldnt be cool.
[...] Italy. He recently won 1st Prize in the Viewbook Photostory competition for his documentary series, SAPE. Of this series, he says, ‘In Congo-Brazzaville SAPE is an old passion that has never [...]
[...] Autorem zdjęć jest Francesco Giusti, nagrodzony na konkursie Viewbook Photo Story. [...]
[...] You can see the rest here. [...]
[...] в Риме. Недавно он занял первое место в конкурсе Viewbook Photostory за этот фотосет. Об этой серии фото он говорит [...]
[...] photos below are part of Francesco Giusti’s La SAPE Collection, which recently won him an award for photography. They really do capture the charm of these special [...]
[...] Francesco Giusti won 1st Prize in the Viewbook Photostory competition for his documentary series, SAPE. In Congo-Brazzaville SAPE is an old passion that has never [...]
[...] Photo © Francesco Giusti/Courtesy Viewbook-All Rights ReservedFrancesco Giusti lives and works as a photographer in Rome, Italy. He recently won First Prize in the Viewbook Photostory competition for his documentary series, SAPE. [...]
Beautifull!
sad to see the similarity between the work of photographer Daniele Tamagni of Italy and Francesco Giusti of Italy.
[...] shot by Daniele Tamagni, Gentleman of Bakongo, and is published by Trolley Books, while the other, SAPE, by Francesco Giusti, is published as a result of the photographer winning 1st Prize Documentary [...]
I think these photos are amazing!
[...] Tamagni e Francesco Giusti têm belas fotografias desses cavalheiros [...]