Philippe Guionie

born in 1972 in Brive (France)

Philippe Guionie completed a history and geography degree before using photography as his main communication tool. Specialized in African topics, he traveled across the continent for a decade. His work examines notions of identity and memory. According to Christian Caujolle, one of the founder of VU' photo agency, "he captures surfaces only to better analyze their depth".> Read more

After documenting the lives of forgotten foreign sniper forces within the French army, Fula albinos and lakeside dwellers as well as touring the shores of the Black Sea, Philippe Guionie focused on the descendants of Black slaves sent to Latin America in the 16th century. Found in Bolivia, Columbia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru and Chili, these African prisoners were planted well beyond the Caribbean or Brazil.

Through his black and white photographs, he tries to go back in time, a search for the origins of these Afro-descendants and, thus, reveal an overlooked diaspora. "Those I met were surprised that someone who came from so far away was interested in their history. We had one thing in common: Africa, real for me, imagined for them. I was the small white man who carried the history of a continent."

A member of the agency Myop since 2009, Philippe Guionie also served as a jury member for the Carmignac Gestion Photojournalism Award in 2011. He has been exhibited in several cities in France, Africa and America as well as published in Le Monde, Libération and, of course, Polka Magazine. He teaches image semiotics at the ETPA in Toulouse, France. 

Juan Valentin Vasquez nicknamed "Bingo Bingo", Ocumare de la Costa, Venezuela, 2009

Exhibitions at Polka Galerie

Exhibitions at Polka Galerie

10 ans de MYOP 10 ans de MYOP 10 ans de MYOP 10 ans de MYOP 10 ans de MYOP

Philippe Guionie

10 ans de MYOP
September 12 - 26, 2015
Swimming in the black sea Swimming in the black sea Swimming in the black sea Swimming in the black sea Swimming in the black sea

Philippe Guionie

Swimming in the black sea
October 28 - December 21, 2014
Format Pola Format Pola Format Pola Format Pola Format Pola

Philippe Guionie

Format Pola
November 24, 2012 - January 12, 2013
Afriques Afriques Afriques Afriques Afriques

Philippe Guionie

Afriques
November 10 - December 31, 2011

Selected Publications

Africa-America Africa-America Africa-America Africa-America Africa-America

Philippe Guionie

Africa-America
Editions Diaphane
Swimming in the Black Sea Swimming in the Black Sea Swimming in the Black Sea Swimming in the Black Sea Swimming in the Black Sea

Philippe Guionie

Swimming in the Black Sea
Filigranes éditions

Selected Exhibitions

Selected Exhibitions

Swimming in the Black Sea

Paris to Peckham : Myop in London, 2015

Swimming in the Black Sea

Salon du Panthéon, Mois de la Photo 2014

Africa-America

Centre culturel franco-nigérien Jean Rouch, Niamey, Niger, 2013

Festival Les Photaumnales

Beauvais, France, 2013

Africa-America

Galerie La Chambre, Strasbourg, France, 2013

Le tirailleur et les trois fleuves

Rencontres photographiques d'Arles, France, 2012

Swimming in the Black Sea

Tbilisi Photo festival, Géorgie, 2012

Africa-America

Galerie de L’Imagerie, Lannion, France, 2012

Africa-America

Alliances françaises de Bogota et Carthagène, Colombia, 2011