"What began as simple curiosity blossomed into an object of national pride; when Seydou Keïta bought a camera to take pictures of his family, neighbours assumed his services were for hire and enlisted him to take portraits of themselves and their homes, turning a carpenter into a photographer and a hobby into artistic expression. In such a way did the self-taught Keïta become the official photographer of Mali from 1962 to 1977, based almost solely on his impeccable reputation for quality and originality that developed by word of mouth."
