Prai$e the Lord

There is only one photograph of Sheikh Amadou Bamba, the founder of the Mouride sect of Islam. He is standing beside a wooden wall, wearing a white kaftan. It is sunny: he squints into the light. And although his face is partially concealed, his eyes are visible. He stares directly into the camera this portrait is probably the most reproduced image in Senegal. Orginally taken in 1917, it is replicated across every imaginable surface in the country. This process of continual reproduction has seen Amadou Bamba’s portrait transform from a representation into an icon;- from the prosaic to the sublime – is the central theme of Dani Pujalte’s project. Initially tracing the passage of Bamba’s image across the everyday surfaces of Senegal, his photographic inquiry expands to document a broader theme: the ongoing dialogue between commerce and faith, material culture and Sufi mysticism.