Artistic description of the photograph: In this sculptural chiaroscuro, the bodies become living matter, shaped by the intensity of light and the gravity of movement. The strong contrast unveils both strength and vulnerability, holding the figures in a state of tension and release. Every fragment of skin, every muscular line, transforms into an ephemeral architecture where gesture is inscribed as embodied memory. This photograph captures the fragile beauty of the instant, where the intimate merges with the universal.
Artistic description of the series: The Bodies and Light series explores the encounter between flesh and luminous brilliance, through a photographic language deeply inspired by contemporary dance. Bodies, sometimes sculpted, sometimes dissolved by shadow, become resonant spaces, carriers of memory and transformation. Each image is a choreographic score suspended in time, where light acts as a living substance in motion. WODY questions notions of presence, identity, and belonging, while offering a poetic and sensory aesthetic rooted in
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.
