Samuel Fosso at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

Works from Samuel Fosso's series African Spirits are included in Persona: Photography and the Re-Imagined Self, a group exhibition on view at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, MA, from February 19 through May 10, 2026. Persona is co-curated by Pieranna Cavalchini, Tom and Lisa Blumenthal Curator of Contemporary Art, and Melissa Harris, Editor-at-Large of Aperture Foundation. Alongside Fosso, the exhibition features works by Claude Cahun, Sophie Calle, Mariko Mori, Zanele Muholi, Narcissister, Man Ray and Marcel Duchamp, Cindy Sherman, Carrie Mae Weems, and David Wojnarowicz, among many others. 

 

From the exhibition's press release:  "With work spanning from the early 20th century to the present, Persona: Photography and the Re-Imagined Self explores the often liberating re-envisioning of identity through an alter ego.

 

Imagine you could be a different version of yourself. What parts of your identity might you reinvent?

 

Since the 1920s, artists have used photography to create and share alter egos that are distinct from their public-facing identity. Persona: Photography and the Re-Imagined Self gathers historical and contemporary images by artists from across the globe who engage with a character, an icon, an avatar—a persona."

 

Find out more on the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum's website.