about
Ussi’n YALA is a photographer working between fashion and documentary.
His work moves between runways, backstage spaces and the streets during fashion week, focusing on the people, gestures and moments that surround the shows.
He began documenting life in Gabon in 2016 through his early series Memories of Gabon. Since then, his work has remained rooted in observation and proximity, shaped by an interest in how people exist within their environments.
Today, he covers international Fashion Weeks as a contributing photographer for Getty Images, producing runway, backstage and street photographs, while also developing long-form documentary projects such as If We Were Allowed. His images have been published in outlets including Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle and Vanity Fair.
Alongside commissioned work, he continues to develop personal projects exploring everyday life, identity and place.
Based in Paris and working internationally, Ussi’n YALA continues to document the spaces where fashion, culture and daily life meet.
Exhibitions
2026 – 2027
Body. Ideal, Gaze, Freedom — Gothenburg Museum of Art, Gothenburg
2023
HOMOGRAFIA Festival — Les Grands Carmes, Brussels
2021
CONNECTION DIGITAL EUROPE «1854 Meet the Unsigned» — LE BOOK, London
IDENTITY — The Holy Art Gallery (Virtual Exhibition)
2020
BLACK ART MATTERS — Maag Halle, Zurich
PHOTOSCHWEIZ — Hall 622 & Stage One, Zurich
2017
PRIX PICTO DE LA MODE — Palais Galliera, Paris
BODIES OF THE EARTH — Centre of African Studies, University of Cambridge, Cambridge
2016
AFRICAN ART FAIR — Galerie Joseph Turenne, Paris