What does joie de vivre mean in an African context?

This is the question that inspired this photographic series. I wanted to capture moments of shared happiness, friendship, seduction, lightness and intimacy — feelings that belong to all humanity, yet are rarely represented within an African setting. I soon realized that the most natural place to find this energy was the beach, in summer, in Dakar — an open, free space where bodies relax, laughter bursts out, and life seems to dance between sky and ocean.

For four years, I roamed Dakar’s beaches, observing, waiting, and capturing those fleeting moments when joy reveals itself without pretense — a smile, a gesture, a shimmer of light. These stolen instants, when brought together, draw a sensitive portrait of a society in motion.

In the spirit of African photography masters such as Seydou Keïta and Malick Sidibé, who immortalized the privileged moments of Malian society in the postwar era — between elegance, pride, and carefreeness — this series follows another path of exploration: to make visible these universal emotions, these bursts of joy and tenderness, within a contemporary Senegalese landscape.

Here, the beach becomes the stage for a modern, spontaneous joy — one deeply rooted in Dakar’s culture, yet open to the world.