In Hero, Father, Friend, Carlos Idun-Tawiah creates an imaginary biopic of his father based on the situations he would like to have experienced with him to preserve his memory, evoking the capacity of photographs to act as substitutes for absence, talismans we keep to treasure the moments we want to remember and return to again and again.

For Idun-Tawiah, one of the winners of Getxophoto’s latest Open Call, what we remember and what is passed on as a legacy to the next generation is always a reconstructed memory. Blending fiction and reality, past and present, true memories and recreations of images inspired by family albums, film culture, or African vernacular archives, Idun-Tawiah is simultaneously the author and the imaginary subject of his scenes. Through them, he rewrites his personal story and, at the same time, a collective memory about parenthood in Black culture, a memory that, in his opinion, has not been documented enough. “Every time I pick up a camera to tell a story, I see it as a service to my community, not only to those living today but to future generations, so that they know what our lives were like.”

Born in 1997 in Takoradi, Ghana, Carlos Idun-Tawiah is a photographer and filmmaker based in Accra. Inspired by Africa’s rich photographic archives, Carlos seeks to reflect on and reimagine the ever-changing landscapes of Black life. Due to his background in fashion photography, from Vogue, GQ to Harper's Bazaar, his photographs have a contemporary and stylish tone that characterizes him. He has exhibited his work at numerous fairs and exhibitions, including Art Basel Miami (2022–2023), Phillips Auction, London (2023), Paris Photo (Paris, 2023), Art Toronto (2023), The Armory Show, New York (2023) or Les Rencontres d’Arles (2023), among others. Carlos has won several awards, including the Contemporary African Photography Prize (2023), the British Journal of Photography OpenWalls Arles Prize (2023), the Belfast Photo Festival Spotlight Award (2023), and the Palm Photo Prize People’s Choice Award (2021).

Carlos Idun-Tawiah (Ghana, 1997)
Hero, Father, Friend

2025 Edition
Open Call Winner
Outdoor installation
Venue: Post Office
Collaborators: Correos, Picter