In the Mourning: Joseph Weté Honors His Late Uncle in Cameroon

Rather than focusing solely on loss, the work considers burial a shared moment of honor and continuity, shaped by ceremony, dress, and community.

Photography by Joseph Weté

“This project was made during my return to Bangoua, Cameroon, for my uncle’s burial. Through portraits and quiet observations, it explores how death is approached differently in West African culture, where mourning exists alongside beauty, uniformity, ritual, and collective presence.

Rather than focusing solely on loss, the work considers burial a shared moment of honor and continuity, shaped by ceremony, dress, and community. Shot on medium format film, the work emerged through a slow negotiation with light, where each frame required an intention to the moment.

The ceremony was a state-sponsored burial, marked by a week-long public celebration and collective mourning. Experiencing this form of honoring the dead, communal, ceremonial, and visually unified, stood in stark contrast to the more straightforward rituals of grief common in the West.

I photographed the burial and its surrounding moments to observe how culture shapes the experience of loss. Alongside the stills, I am also developing a short Super 8 film that expands on the same themes.”

-Joseph Weté, Harlem, NY.