Maurice Pellosh

Maurice Bidilou (15 August 1951 – 25 May 2023), also known as Pellosh, was a Congolese portrait photographer. He produced small and medium format photographs of Congolese society in the early 1970s to mid 1990s. He gained newfound recognition in 2021 after a series of solo shows. Before his death, he was described as "one of the last living masters of African photography".

Early years Pellosh was born in the southern rural area of Bouansa (Congo-Brazzaville), the second of six children.

Photographic career In 1973, Pellosh ordered his first camera from France, a 6x6 Yashica Mat-124 G. The studio was located in the Rex district, close to the Central Market and Grand mosque. It was particularly popular among participants in La Sape culture, or sapeurs, which was booming at the time; Over the span of 40 years, he captured thousands of portraits and scenes of Congolese society. Béthery sent around 8,000 of these negatives to Stéphane Cormier, a specialist in black and white prints, who confirmed that a majority of the photos could be recovered. The second exhibition, "From West to East", took place in Dar es Salaam in October 2022. The third exhibition, "Faces to Faces", took place in June 2023 in Paris.

As part of the "Traversées Africaines" art tour in Paris, Pellosh's photographs were displayed twice: "Pause Congolaise", the fourth exhibition, was held in May 2024, and "Fringués comme Jamais", the fifth exhibition, was held in May 2025.

Pellosh's photos were presented at the African Book Fair (Salon du Livre Africain) in September 2021 in Paris.

Pellosh's work was showcased through a screening and presentation at the 16th edition of the "Nuits Photographiques de Pierrevert" in July 2024.

A documentary film "Maurice Pellosh, Capturing Memory" was completed in July 2024. The documentary was shown at the October 2024 Ecrans Noirs Film Festival in Yaoundé, the Abuja Film Festival, the New York Africa Film Festival 2025 in New York City, the 2025 Benin City Film Festival, and the Festival Plan d'Ensemble 2025 in Chateauguay, where it won the award for best international documentary. A screening of the film took place on May 20, 2025 at the Cinéma Saint André des Arts in Paris.

Photographs taken by Pellosh feature in a five-year traveling exhibition across three continents titled "In Slavery's Wake: Making Black Freedom in the World", organized by the United States' National Museum of African American History and Culture, starting in December 2024. The National Historical Museum in Rio de Janeiro is hosting the exhibition from November 13, 2025 to March 26, 2026.

The Photographic Archives Department of the Bibliothèque nationale de France acquired 10 Pellosh photographs in January 2025.

Photographs by Pellosh were showcased in an exhibition dedicated to Congolese rumba, titled "Café Rumba", in partnership with the Royal Muséum for Central Africa in Brussels, during March 2025.

During the first edition of the Pointe-Noire photo festival Ponton Photo, occurring from June 2025 to September 2025, around forty photos by Maurice Pellosh were exhibited.

The French Institute of Gabon in Libreville presented the work of Maurice Pellosh in its "Studios Photos" exhibition from November 2025 to January 2026. Brice Oligui Nguema and Emmanuel Macron visited the exhibition on November 24, 2025.

Photographs by Pellosh were offered for sale at contemporary auctions at Drouot Auction House (Paris) in November 2023, in June 2024, in July 2024 at an auction organized during the Arles Photographic Meetings, and in June 2025.

Currently, over 500 of Pellosh's photos are in exhibitions in France and the United States.