More than ever, the world is confronted with news of African nationals migrating to ‘other worlds’. Moussa John Kalapo’s photo essay redirects us to the everyday anxieties of those who remain behind. Moussa represents lived experience through the story of Saba, a fellow Malian national living in Bamako. Saba carries a number of ‘self imposed expectations’ and aspirations that are represented in his relationship with land, familial structures, the architecture of home, spirituality, and the everyday - outside of the usual parameters of spectacle. Saba’s thoughts, wishes, dreams and anxieties move through and become one with the space. This is his world, which he is making, negotiating and remaking.

Moussa Kalapo was born in 1983 in Bamako, Mali. After studying accounting and computer science at the vocational training institute of Sikasso and Bamako, in 2010 he enrolled at the Center for Training in Photography (CFP) in Bamako. Kalapo was commissioned to carry out photojournalism assignments for NGOs such as Swisscontact, One Word and Spana Mali. He has also participated in photography workshops and group exhibitions in Mali and France. Kalapo is currently working on the project NEH Mali-Photo, for the preservation, digitization and archiving of the heritage of significant African photographers Malick Sidibe, Abderahamane Sakaly, Tijane Sitou and Adama Kouyate.
He was selected for the Pan-African Exhibition of the 10th edition of the Bamako Biennale of Photography, organized by Bisi Silva of the Center for Contemporary Art Lagos, which will feature his latest project "The Metaphor of Time". Kalapo is the winner of the 2nd Innovation Prize at the 3rd edition of Quinzaine de la Photographie in Benin in 2016 for his series "Modern Slavery’’ and is a contributor to the world's largest image bank, Getty Images, and Co-founder and active member of the association Collectif Images Conceptuelles.