At the age of fourteen Fosso (b. Cameroon, 1962) already had begun to make self-portraits in his studio. By means of backdrops and props he transformed this into various imaginary surroundings. In these he himself played a different role each time, by putting on different costumes for each shot and assuming different poses. In Paris he made the series "Tati" to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the clothing store with the same name. On this occasion he played with Western clichés. This was the first time that he had worked with assistants and make-up.

At the age of ten Fosso moved to Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, where he has lived since. In 1975 he opened his own studio, Studio National, and a year later his present studio, Studio Convenance. Since 1994 Fosso has attained international fame and his photographs are to be seen in important shows in Paris and London. That same year he won the Afrique en Création prize and in 1995 there was a survey exhibition of his work in the Centre National de la Photographie, Paris.