Artistic description of the photography : This photograph captures a moment of silent tension, suspended between two bodies facing each other in the darkness. The light grazes the skin, revealing fragments of intimacy while leaving the rest concealed, like a secret to be uncovered. The hand resting on the face, the play of gazes, and the closeness of the bodies evoke an unspoken exchange, a dialogue beyond words. In this sculpted darkness, the image explores the fragility of emotions and the power of silence, inviting the viewer to come closer and sense what lies beneath.
Artistic description of the series : The Corps et Lumière series is a poetic exploration of human forms, movement, and presence. Inspired by contemporary dance and performance art, it questions the intimate relationship between the body, space, and light. Each photograph becomes a living sculpture, where silhouettes unfold, merge, or dissolve into darkness. Light is treated as a sculptural material, shaping visual narratives where the visible meets the invisible. The series reveals the expressive power of the human body and its fragile existence, caught between emergence and disappearance.
Yawo WODY’s photographic practice delves into the fluid relationship between the human body, space, and light. Guided by a constant pursuit of balance, elegance, and poetic resonance, his work transforms photography into a choreographic language where movement becomes narrative.
His series “Corps et lumière” (Body and Light) embodies this approach. Inspired by his passion for contemporary dance and enriched through collaborations with dancers and choreographers from various companies, the series unfolds in three chapters, questioning: the body’s relationship with time, its inscription in space, and the transformations of identity it undergoes.
WODY sculpts his subjects with light, using both natural and artificial sources to reveal subtle details of form, texture, and emotion. His black-and-white images, often set against deep, minimalist backgrounds, create a tension between appearance and dissolution. Each photograph becomes a visual narrative, where energy, intimacy, and abstraction coexist.
Beyond aesthetics, his work engages with social and political questions, reflecting on themes such as power dynamics, territoriality, identity, and the evolving state of the world. Through his lens, Yawo WODY invites viewers into a space where the human body becomes a living sculpture, oscillating between fragility and transcendence.
Yawo WODY is a self-taught photographer, exhibition curator, and artistic director based in Lomé, Togo. His visual universe explores the interactions between the body, light, and movement, drawing inspiration from contemporary dance and three-dimensional forms.
2025 – Venice Architecture Biennale (Italy) Featured in the Togo Pavilion, curated by the Palais de Lomé
2023 – AKAA Art Fair (Also Known As Africa), Paris Presented the series “Corps et lumière|Body and Light.”
2022 – Group Exhibition, Palais de Lomé (Togo).
2021 – Festival of Contemporary Arts, Cotonou, Benin.
2020 – Solo Exhibition “Ombres et Présences | Shadows and Presences,” Lomé.
