Carlos Idun-Tawiah at Paris Photo 2025
Mia Macfarlane
Carlos Idun-Tawiah at Paris Photo 2025 delivered one of the most affecting and emotionally articulate presentations of the fair. Galería Alta presented the Accra-based photographer’s solo exhibition, which brought a deeply personal body of work to the international stage. More than a visual showcase, it became a meditation on memory, identity, and the visual absences that shape diasporic narratives.
Reconstructing What Was Never Documented
Carlos Idun-Tawiah does not simply document African life. Instead, he reimagines it. His work moves between what actually happened and what should have been captured. At Paris Photo, his presentation « I’ll Be Here to Remind You » transformed a quiet booth into an emotional landscape. It’s where Carlos Idun-Tawiah allowed memory and longing to meet within the frame.
Born in 1997, the Ghanaian artist belongs to a new generation of African image-makers redefining how we see the continent. He grounds his practice in personal experience and cultural inheritance. At the same time, he remains acutely aware of what the historical archive often omits.
Hero, Father, Friend: A Centerpiece of Tender Reconstruction
« Hero, Father, Friend » formed the emotional core of the exhibition. Idun-Tawiah created this series in response to the early loss of his father. Given that he had no photographs of the two of them together, he stages imagined moments. Through this process, Carlos Idun-Tawiah turns absence into presence.
In the series, a father and child sleep in each other’s arms to the lull of a train ride. A father teaches his son football. Light and shadow rebuild gestures, glances, and connection. These photographs are not casual snapshots. Rather, they serve as restorations of memory. They form a visual eulogy that is both tender and defiant.
The series recently received the 2025 Deloitte Photo Grant and will appear at the Triennale di Milano later this month. This moment marks a significant milestone in the artist’s growing international presence. Markedly, the work offers a critical intervention. By inventing photographs that never existed, Idun-Tawiah questions the reliability and limitations of traditional photographic records.
“The Barbershop”, Accra, Ghana, 2023. Archival Pigment Print. One
Size Only 61 × 76.2cm – 2023
Alta
Aesthetic Language Rooted in Cultural Intimacy
Idun-Tawiah composes his images with cinematic restraint. For the most part, his visual language leans warm yet unsentimental. He often uses soft, natural light and quiet environments. These choices allow gestures and emotions to resonate fully.
In « Day One, » he visits the father figure, spending time with his son while teaching him football. He transforms routine moments into something deeply moving. Meanwhile, in « Between Stations, » Carlos Idun-Tawiah reframes masculinity with care and vulnerability. Here, the hard moments shared with someone who loves you make it a good memory.
These are not generalized portrayals of Ghanaian life. On the contrary, they are intimate and specific stories. Idun-Tawiah treats each subject with patience and precision. He avoids cultural shorthand and instead honors complexity.
Why This Debut Mattered at Paris Photo 2025
Paris Photo remains one of the most significant stages in contemporary photography. With over 130 galleries and many solo booths, the fair often overwhelms quieter voices. Despite this, Idun-Tawiah’s presentation stood out. Critics responded, collectors lingered, and discussions about representation became grounded and real through his work.
He reminds viewers that photography is not just a medium for seeing. It is also a method for repairing, reclaiming, and remembering. In this context, « From my Father » is not just as an artwork but a cultural offering.
Final Thoughts about Carlos Idun-Tawiah
Carlos Idun-Tawiah at Paris Photo 2025 did not seek spectacle. He did not rely on provocation or chase headlines. Instead, he offered something quieter and more lasting. Specifically, his exhibition invited viewers into a world shaped by memory, loss, love, and the longing to restore what history has overlooked.
Amid the visual noise of the fair, his work asked us to pause. And in that stillness, he reminded us what photography can do when it comes from somewhere deeply true.
Feature image credit: Carlos Idun-Tawiah: « Day One », Accra, Ghana, 2024. – 2024, Alta Gallery. (Copyright © Carlos Idun-Tawiah, 2024)
One day when I was barely two my mom let me push her out of her bedroom. She was curious so she ran outside the house so she could watch me through the window. I climbed up on a chair by her vanity and started putting on her makeup. I loved playing dress up as a kid. Putting on my mom's sequin tube tops and high heeled shoes and then putting on a dance show in the lobby or the restaurant of the hotel/residence we lived in. It was the best childhood ever. Dress-up, dancing, playing with barbies, and drawing were my favorite things to do. I have not changed one bit today. If I am creating I am happy.
Now I am in Paris for the second time in my life and I am having a ball playing with my partner in crime Julien Crouigneau. We founded IRK Magazine together in 2015 and we are proud to collaborate with some amazing artists, and influencers.
We are also a photography duo under the pseudonym French Cowboy. We love to tell stories and create poetic images that are impactful.
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