Tag: new york

Emon Toufanian // fashion editorials and collages of glitchy wonderlands

The rabbit-hole went straight on like a tunnel for some way, and then dipped suddenly down, so suddenly that Alice had not a moment to think about stopping herself before she found herself falling down a very deep well. – Quote from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol.

Emon Toufanian is an artist whose primary mediums are photography and collage. Working in the music industry before, discovering his talents as an artist was a happy accident, and now sees him producing fashion editorials and beautifully trippy collages. His images look as if he has taken inspiration from the imagination of Lewis Carrol and glitch aesthetics, creating his own morphed wonderlands.

The images he uses for his collages look as if they are melting into one another, while others are torn and overlaid on to others. “I prefer art that’s visceral and lets you decide your own meaning. I try just to create an atmosphere that allows viewers to better understand their desires, pain, dreams, whatever,” Toufanian mentions in an interview with Metal Magazine. This is combined with his ability to make the subjects in both his collages and photography carry a feeling of vulnerability and fierce engagement with viewers. The intention of this is to allow the viewer to construct their own interpretations of his work, and assist them in unpacking their own feelings.

“Collage is ritualistic to me; I need to be alone and with music. I look for a moment of transcendence when a character or story reveals itself, driven by whatever record is on. Editorial is collaborative so the challenge is finding a compromise between my vision and the reality of what’s possible on set.”

Working between New York and Paris, he places fragments of these cities in his work. He has been recognised by publications such as Dazed, PUSS PUSS, Vogue Italia and Document Journal among others, with his work being used for covers.

Fall down a very deep well and go on a visual adventure by visiting Toufanian’s website to view more of his work.

2 August 2018
Gowun Lee // exploring social issues with a conceptual lens

Describing herself as a visual artist who uses photography as her chosen medium, Gowun Lee explores social issues in a conceptual manner. She received her BFA in Photography from the School of Visual Arts, and her work has been included in exhibitions around the world, the most recent being the 2018 Aperture Summer Open titled The Way We Live Now in New York.

Lee has moved from New York to South Korea for her ongoing project which brings light to the fact that the majority of LGBTQ people in South Korea have to hide their true identities, despite the increase in LGBTQ activism and awareness. This is represented visually in her series I’m Here With You, where the people photographed never face the camera directly. Instead their bodies are turned and their faces are hidden. “The LGBTQ individuals photographed – all facing away from the camera – remind us of how Korean society continues to neglect and refuse to accept them. “By creating these images, my intent is to both implicate the viewer in the nation’s larger refusal to acknowledge the identity of LGBTQ individuals and, more importantly, to spur us all to take action and change this attitude once and for all,” Lee says in an interview with the UK’s Daily Mail. This series is a powerful portrayal of lived experiences, and the way in which this affects people’s lives, with those photographed often alone within the frame. A creepy stillness becomes apparent with Lee’s compositional choices.

To check out more of work visit Lee’s website.

9 July 2018
Tyler Mitchell’s Candid Lens and Raw Depictions of Youth sets him apart as a young creative

A photographic and filmic dexterity finding its nucleus in real life experience. Candid portraits that remain in cognitive thought. A stylistic virtue that comes across as haphazard play.

Tyler Mitchell is a filmmaker and photographer from Atlanta currently based in Brooklyn, New York. A recent film graduate from NYU, his venture into photography was prompted by a skater friend’s introduction to a Canon 7D.

With his work coming full circle his lens has been graced by the presence of Jaden Smith and Kevin Abstract. Collaborating with Abstract has quickly set him apart as a filmmaker to watch. Filming the rapper with pink hair in a brooding gaze, Tyler used an underground club as the backdrop for ‘Hell/Heroina‘ released in 2014 and made a satirical music video titled ‘Dirt‘ for Brockhampton that was led by Abstract.

A career-defining moment in the young creative’s life was the release of his photography book, El Paquete (his first self-published book). In Havana, Cuba, Tyler aimed to remove himself from that which is familiar to him. The end product of the 30 rolls of film used and developed is an arresting body of work taking the shape of a publication. Within its pages is reflected the raw energy and youth of an area on the verge of digital advancement. El Paquete gained traction from publications such as Dazed and i-D and quickly skyrocketed the young talent’s photographic work, cementing him as a prominent creative within the photographic landscape. Since then, Tyler has exhibited at the 2018 Aperture Summer Open in New York.

Tyler’s work reflects rawness and honesty. His practice cannot be boxed into a specific set of aesthetic values as he plays with both shadow and shadow-less representations, saturated and desaturated stylings. What remains true in his work is its candid, easy-going nature that wraps around your mind as you see individuals depicted in intimate gazes and pensive thought. The young creative’s craft is advanced and his career is soaring at a considerably young age and seeing where his work takes him next will be a blast I’m sure.

For more of his work visit his website.

4 July 2018
Dana Scruggs – Photography celebrating the black body and increasing visibility

Rawness used as a tool of empowerment. A shutter that constructs a narrative around the individuals captured. A constant return to documenting the movement of the human form and the beauty of the black body. A visual activism. A visual voice.

Dana Scruggs is a photographer based in Brooklyn, New York. Her string of victories in the photography profession include capturing Tori Bowie (Olympic gold-medalist and the fastest woman in the world) for ESPN’s 10^th edition of their Body Issue. With this editorial Dana broke barriers by being the first black female photographer to have contributed to this issue.

A raw approach becomes a voice for a community and acts to represent and celebrate the black body in all its infinite beauty. The realness in her work showcases individuals in a perspective that is hardly seen but mostly felt. By this I mean that her work translates as an emotion – as an embodiment of the people she photographs.

In an interview with DAILY RITUAL Dana expresses her view on the industry, “Representation matters not just in front of the camera but behind it as well. Brands, mags, & galleries need to look at how they may be feeding into a culture that’s not inclusive of Black women and not inclusive of women of color. It’s not enough to have Black women in your magazine, ad campaign or grace the walls of your gallery. As artists, our voices have been underrepresented and underemployed for far too long. Make the effort to seek us out… MAKE THE EFFORT TO BE INTERSECTIONAL.”

To check out more of her work visit her website.

2 July 2018
Delphine Diallo’s ‘Women of New York’ – empowering women

Delphine Diallo, currently based in Brooklyn, New York, is a French Senegalese photographer and visual artist. Completing her studies at the Académie Charpentier School of Visual Art in Paris she worked in the music industry as a graphic designer, special effect motion artist and video editor before moving to New York to explore her own practice.

Combining her artistry with activism Delphine momentums various possibilities for the empowerment of women, cultural minorities and youth forward. The mediums in which she practices include both analogue and digital photography, illustration and collage, virtual reality and 3D printing.

Her arresting imagery acts to challenge societal norms and champion women with mythological, anthropological, sexuality, identity and race explorations.

Delphine’s project Women of New York makes use of classic portraiture to create visibility. For this project, she photographed women and girls of New York which was compiled into a book format and featured 111 females (a symbol of oneness).

For this project, the artist used the method of blind casting via Instagram posts and having her assistant handle the model calls in order to rule out discrimination and limiting women and girls who want to participate from forming a part of the project.

“I feel like if I select women, then I’m discriminating against other women who want to participate. I’m not going to do that. So, my assistant handles the model calls I post on Instagram, and 30 women might reply, and because they’ve expressed interest, they are part of this project.

I want to give each woman who has felt defeated, unprotected, ignored or degraded, a new light to shine on her brilliance and beauty. And, for the women who have always felt empowered, despite society dismissing her in the workplace, educational institutions, media outlets, and even in her home, I want Women of New York to illuminate her strength in ways she may never have imagined.” she expressed in an interview with 99u.

Delphine’s images are strong and show these women and girls in a confident, powerful light. Her project has created visibility and a face that speaks to what it means to be a female in New York today. Her work holds power in that it celebrates beauty and is a clear indication that womanhood cannot be seen as an embodiment of one way of being.

29 June 2018
Dancer and Choreographer Jeremy Nedd shapes multidisciplinary performative pieces

Choreographer and classically trained dancer Jeremy Nedd lives and practices in Brooklyn, NY. Studying dance from a very young age (8 years old), Jeremy gradually stepped into creating original choreographed pieces after many years of performing the choreography of others.

As a dancer he studied in New York and relied on his own intuition to train himself in choreography. “Choreography for me was always just a continuation or fulfilling of my ideas as a dancer, so I didn’t think to go to program.” In 2016 Jeremy left a position he kept in a theater and began a Masters in ‘Expanded Theater’ at the Hochschule der Künste Bern.

With ‘Expanded Theater’ Jeremy created a stage for himself to experiment. This experimentation is put into action by what Jeremy describes as composing images per-formatively through music, art and dramatic theatre techniques.

In discussion with the multi form artist he unpacks his work and approach to creating.

What is Communal Solo about and can you please unpack the title? How was this work approached and who are the people that are participating in this performance?

It was quite the journey to get it to the point that it is now, at least a years worth of work, if not more. In the very early stages of the work I was very caught up on the idea that theater was considered a communal experience. This ritual that we as a spectating pubic go and watch, while a someone performs.

I always wondered where in this constellation was the communal connection. Was it shared between the members of the public… or was it between the public and the performer(s)? Somehow I felt there was a disconnect, so I wanted to see if there was another way to achieve a sense of community in the theatre space.

After many attempts at creating, majority participatory based, communal acts in the theater, I found the most natural way for me to access a feeling of community was looking to how actual community is built around issues that deeply concern me. So in the end Communal Solo was inspired by experiences of mourning, celebration and protest, and how these collective experiences or communal gatherings correlate and coalesce in connection to a specific narrative – the recurrent violence in the form of Police brutality against the African-American community in the United States. This work made significant developments in this direction with Deborah Hollman.

‘An Homage’ photographed by Ayka Lux and Erwan Schmidt

Can you tell me more about your creative process?

I suppose this is where I could come back to the message in my work, Even though I come from a classical ballet education and history of performing contemporary ballets professionally my practice has had a focus on utilizing movement modes that are not based in codified dance techniques or not associated with the institution size theater idea of trained dance.

I find the constant themes that have informed my work revolve around; utilizing online resources, the process of dissection, demystification and re-contextualization and confronting definitions of validity and contemporaneity specifically in western spaces for art and theater. I am hoping to introduce new ideas of ‘virtuosity’ and where these perceptions land on ideas and narratives around race, gender and economic status (mine own as black male in particular). And in doing so attempting to inject validity into certain narratives and aesthetics.

‘An Homage’

What is the significance of space to your practice?

Space is integral, my girlfriend is an Architect. Through her I’ve really accessed a whole other understanding of the idea of “a body in space”. Especially considering how in a lot of contemporary practices the idea of space, be it physical or virtual is a very present topic.

How does the moving human form relate to space in your work?

As I mentioned before, now that I’m actively incorporating other disciplines in my practice, sculpture and installation for example, these operate very differently when presented in different contexts. Museum, Theater or Public Space/ Site Specific are all very different contexts and influence an audience reception to a work in different ways.

At present Jeremy is developing his next project exploring Sad Boy Rap. The project which is due to premiere at the end of this month is being created in collaboration with Maximilian Hanisch and Laurel Knüsel. The piece titled, ‘Sad Boy Culture’ will be premiering at the Festival Belluard Bollwerk International in Fribourg, Switzerland.

In August the performer will be in Johannesburg for a few months working on a new project with the Pantsula’s of Impilo Mapantsula.

‘An Homage’

‘re(mains)’

‘re(mains)’

6 June 2018
Electro-soul duo Kami Awori wants you to interrogate your reality

Having met in high school, the duo now known as Kami Awori began their creative pursuits together performing in front of their school which led to the birth of their first band CaramelBrown. A classical pianist by training, producer Karami [Juline] grew up in a musical household thanks to a grandmother that was a piano professor. Similarly, singer & songwriter Awori’s maternal grandfather also had a passion for music which led to a music-filled home and her pursuing singing and songwriting from the age of 8, and studying classical and jazz in high school. They continued their musical education post high school, with Awori going to Montreal to study live performance and Karami going to Cuba to play music in a collective.

As CaramelBrown the duo released 3 EPs including a collaboration with Karami’s former collective in Cuba. “That was the first time we were [in Cuba] together…We went there separately and this was the first time the both of us were there to work on the music collabos with musicians that we’d met from when Juline was there for a year,” explains Awori.

2016 saw the duo drop CaramelBrown in favour of Kami Awori. “We felt like we weren’t linked to that name anymore,” says Awori. The debut release as Kami Awori was the politically charged ‘Lunation’ which was a tribute and contribution to the Black Lives Matter movement. However, Awori explains that the aim of Kami Awori isn’t necessarily to make political music, although politics have always been important to them. “Not to say that all of our music from now on is going to be super political, but I think it’s important to have a message and think about what people are going to take from the music. Our future projects, like say the album that we’re working on, isn’t 100% political, you know. There [are] still love songs in there, there [are] still songs about heartache.”

While the album is in its final stages there isn’t a set release date yet. “I’d say we’re in the final stages so hopefully 2018,” says Awori. The album has been created around the world including Berlin, New York, Paris and Johannesburg, and features collaborations with a number of traditional musicians. The album documents their experiences making and playing music around the world over the last few years. “The theme is life and evolution through life as women working in the music industry, and the different stages [we have gone through]: good, bad & ugly.” Karami notes that in terms of the sound they used a lot of percussion combined with electronic effects, something she had explored on ‘Lunation’ but is being pushed even further in the upcoming album.

Speaking of what she wants her listeners to take from their music, Awori simply states: “I’d like our music to change people’s views on things or question what they hold as true. I’d like people to think more of the world, and also really feel things.“

23 February 2018
The faceless work of Ben Zank and Surrealism in Photography

Ben Zank grew up in the Bronx, New York City. Coming from a journalism background he felt that he did not have a platform to voice his own opinion and took to photography. Finding his voice at the age of 21 by means of a 365 self-portrait project, Zank has a defining style that he refers to as bizarre minimalism. His work is often called surrealistic due to the unconventional poses his models inhabit, his use of composition and the faceless nature of his work. Here I take a look at Surrealism in photography and the relevance of Zank’s curious imagery

Zank’s photography is characterized by its scrupulous attention to composition and his faceless subjects that have the ability to transform that which is familiar into something rather peculiar. “When you shoot somebody’s face, you’re shooting their likeness, their personality, and that’s not really what I’m trying to capture.” Zank is interested in transmitting information about the human condition and his concepts for his images are often stimulated by a certain location and the mood that it evokes in him.

It is thought-provoking that Zank chooses to focus instead on the human form and not the visage, as is common practice with many photographers. His subjects’ faces are often hidden and when they do show their faces, they never look directly at the viewer. “It’s pretty common to see beautiful faces in photographs, but I’m not trying to sell that. I’m interested in portraying the human form as something architectural and surreal.”

Zank feels that in the same way that certain photographers have the ability to capture emotions in people by showing their faces, he has found that he can create a similar effect without the use of faces. Stating that the image itself is the emotion that he is conveying, identity, or rather, the lack of identity is integral to Zank’s work.

Expressing that people are the focus of his work more so than composition as he finds them more unpredictable and multi-faceted, Zank states, “The most interesting thing about photography to me is the relationship of humans between themselves and between their environment.”

Zank has however stated in interviews that his work is devoid of meaning and instead focuses on the organic manifestations of his own inner workings as well as a visual experience he wishes to convey. It is rather contradictory that Zank would make such a statement as his pursuits into photography were aimed at establishing a voice that he does not seem to intend on expressing verbally. Instead Zank lets his bizarre minimalist work speak for itself.

Susan Sontag states in On Photography (1977) that photography has the reputation of being the most realistic and simplistic of the mimetic arts. “Surrealism lies at the heart of the photographic enterprise: in the very creation of a duplicate world, of a reality in the second degree, narrower but more dramatic than the one perceived by natural vision.” (Sontag 1977).

Sontag states that Surrealism has always been open to accidents and disorderly presences. “What could be more surreal than an object which virtually produces itself, and with a minimum of effort? An object whose beauty, fantastic disclosures, emotional weight are likely to be further enhanced by any accidents that might befall it?” (Sontag 1977)

Sontag also expresses that photographs are not deeply bound to the intentions of the artist but that they exist due to loose cooperation between the photographer and his/her subject. These results according to Sontag are exciting and never entirely wrong.

When taking Sontag’s point of view into consideration it is clear that Zank’s work if not all photography falls under the surrealism wing because of its nature as a duplicate of the real world. Zank’s work however does not make use of natural compositions. The poses made by the models themselves and their uncomfortable body positions together with the faceless elements that are so key to his work make his work a perfect example of Surrealist Photography.

8 August 2017
Gung-ho Stoicism: The Aesthetics of music, art, fashion, tennis and war with Shamon Cassette

Shamon Cassette , formerly known as Cerebral Vortex has been one of my favourite rappers ever since I discovered the internet and realized that the only interesting rappers were the ones who dint mind having HTML awe struck pen pals from third world continents. He’s a beacon of knowledge for all types of cool shit because he’s done it all. From driving Tanks during the Iraq War as a US marine to making songs with the likes of Spoek Mathambo, Youngsta and Thirstin Howl, he’s done it all.

Whats the whole idea behind Black Agassi?

Black Agassi is homage to one of the gods of style and the whole idea came about as my interest in playing tennis became a pretty serious thing alongside my passion for wearing wigs and toting designer tennis racket covers through the streets of Manhattan. I’ve always been a huge fan of all the Nike court challenge pieces and the lava splatters. I wanted to create a platform to tell his story that I’ve always been so intrigued by growing up. To me Agassi was totally punk in the 90’s so that’s where the cover art reference is drawn from.

What influenced the sound of this project? I haven’t heard a “straight” Hip-Hop record from you in a while, what brought about the change from the faster club tunes you do so well?

The faster club tunes these days I’m about are hip-house and acid house records that I make with Bon Voyage. The traditional sounds of Hip-Hop were always my true core. Then I fell in love with the Kwaito sound which then sparked my desire to adjust my focus toward hip-house but Black Agassi was something I was doing in between for therapy and fitness .When we birthed Vertual Vertigo we were collecting and hunting for vintage, analog gear and playing around with old vocal techniques to achieve the sounds and styles of our favourite shit from the boom bap era.

That said who is Japandrew? (Producer of Black Agassi)

Japandrew is my brother from another mother. We met as my former crew, Vertual Vertigo relocated to America and made our home base Chicago. He had just gotten out of prison and our DJ at the time stayed back in Europe. He was a perfect fit for us and it started off as him hanging out with us a lot and then always having a fresh beat tape for the car didn’t hurt. It didn’t take long at all before he became a permanent member of the team. After Vertual Vertigo went on hiatus, we continued to work together up to now

So when did your obsession with tennis come about?

Honestly, no lie…So when I was studying fashion at F.I.T. I needed an elective to get my degree and all the classes were like yoga, spinning, chess and then I seen kung fu on the list. My kung fu instructor was one of those 80’s furry Jerry Garcia looking gung-ho dudes and wouldn’t pass you unless you got all the forms and styles and routines properly. He was a hater and failed me because I thought certain moves worked better in different forms. At least he gave me an “I” for incomplete on the course. The following semester I still needed the credits so I took the intro to tennis instead and I loved that shit and advanced through tennis. Then I started getting invites by the alumni to play doubles at the Manhattan tennis club and from there it just really took off for me.

Not too many people know that you were a U.S Marine and even spent some time in Iraq, a subject you touch on in “point served” what led you into the Army and has it influenced your music in anyway?

Suicidal thoughts led me to joining the military. I was going through shit just like any 19 year old would do and after some wild suicide fails earlier on in life and I thought it would be waaay cooler to die for something than to just die for nothing… and guns and tanks and travelling kind of interested me a lot at the time and I needed to do something. It’s definitely influenced my music in many ways because my experiences there have become bits to the pieces that collectively make Shamon Cassette.

You’re also a stylist by profession. What’s your earliest memory of “fashion” and what keeps you in the fashion game?

My earliest memories of fashion were from my mother. She was a very beautiful stylish lady. She used to be a part of a car club that all drove souped up Datsuns and it was like a style and attitude vibe so I was seeing early on how the two played hand in hand (style/attitude).

What keeps me in the game is research. I spend a great amount of my time doing research on just about any and everything. I always tend to find inspiration for fashion in the oddest forms. Most of the time it’s not even something fashion related that I become inspired and try to translate into fashion.

You’ve been doing music for ages and you have a bag of really good releases underneath your belt, I personally feel you’re underrated? Do you feel underrated? Or is this a shitty question?

Thanks for saying that and no, it’s not a shitty question at all. I actually get asked that question quite a bit. I don’t ever feel underrated. If anything I’d say “undiscovered”. Just seeing how some of the greater artists in history that held the longest reigns in longevity were also dubbed underrated before they popped off. I feel like the ratings come from the fans that actually understand you and relate to you and appreciate you for being the voice of the like minded people that don’t have a voice or a platform. So those numbers mean nothing to me, it’s the quality of the fan base and their ratings are the ones that matter to me.

So how did the Thirstin Howl The 3rd collaboration come about? Apart from the both of you having beards and being from Brooklyn? Were you also shop lifting Ralph Lauren Clothes for shits and giggles?

My history with the Lo-Life’s and Brooklyn shit go way back. One of my brothers is actually a Lo-Life Buddy Leezle. Vertual Vertigo collectively were massive Thirstin Howl fans so as we were midway through making Black Agassi we came up with the hair brain idea of “what If we had Thirstin on a track?”. So we got his number from a mutual friend and buzzed him and sent it to Thirstin and 3 days later we opened up an email that said “yeahyeahyeah”. Dreams come true. You never know what could have happened if you never asked.

But what’s your favourite collaboration you’ve done so far?

My favourite collaboration so far has had to have been the remake of Fela Kuti’s “zombiez” for the last Red Hot+ Fela compilation with my favourite visionary in the world Spoek Mathambo. It was crazy because Seun Kuti actually invited us on to remake the song.

You’re basically an honorary South African as far as everyone here is concerned. What drew you to this country?

That’s an absolute honour. I actually do feel like an honorary South African. Hold up…. allow me to give the biggest shouts to all my South African homies and Jozi, Soweto, Cape Town Durban and everywhere in between. I’ve felt a connection to South Africa ever since the first time I watched Coming to America. I was so intrigued by Eddie Murphy’s character being a prince from Africa made me fantasize about his life. Then one day, you and Spoek started buzzing early on the internet chat rooms and MySpace and shit. You guys were straight serving me up South Africa flavour since way back then via the internet. After the Sub-Pop thing kicked off for Spoek and we got sent out to shoot the “let them talk” video in Durban and that was actually my first trip to South Africa and that’s when my obsession with South Africa started.

How important are personal aesthetics when it comes to creating art/music?

Personal aesthetics are actually the most important part of art and music. If the personal aesthetic isn’t powerful the piece lacks character.

Download Black Agassi

16 February 2017
Bloom – Women Growing Together

‘And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom’ – Anaïs Nin

The above quote was the very first post by BLOOM when they launched their Instagram account, on the 1st of September this year; the first month of spring. It encapsulates the vision founders Nandi Dlepu and Farai Simoyi have for their platform. BLOOM seeks to provide spaces for women to meet, converse and inspire each other. “A platform where we can communicate freely about the challenges and triumphs we face in our careers, our relationships, our spirits and with our bodies”. Their bi-monthly conversations take place in Johannesburg, New York and Harare. I caught up with co-founder Nandi to get a feeling for their philosophy of blooming, together.

The seed for BLOOM was planted when Farai and Nandi met through a mutual friend earlier this year. Nandi hosted a pop up event in NY and Farai offered her coffee shop as the meeting spot for the Brunch & Ride. Soon after Nandi’s return to SA Farai hit her up looking to link up with like-minded women on another project of hers. From that conversation they found themselves talking about organizing like-minded women together to chat and collaborate in the same way that they had done, and the seed for BLOOM began to grow. “From conversation to conversation we haven’t stopped imagining and building,” Nandi explains. “BLOOM was in part inspired by all the good conversations we ever had with our girlfriends and/or mentors, and sometimes even with strangers. That feeling you get after such meetings. It’s as if your heart and mind have opened themselves up to more. I would leave such conversations inspired, motivated and challenged. So I sought to package that experience with and through BLOOM. That feeling of being open to more, being and doing is the feeling I want women to leave BLOOM with”. All event themes and uploads on their IG account always relate back to their idea of growing together.

September saw events hosted in all three cities .Their first meet up in Johannesburg also took its cue from their overarching theme for September, conversations around creativity, and so BLOOMERS headed off to Keyes Art Mile in Rosebank for a guided tour by Whatiftheworld in their collaborative space with Southern Guild followed by lunch. Conversation on Creativity, their Johannesburg event for the month, was conceptualized by Nandi and focused on “getting and staying inspired as well as finding and establishing your own authentic & creative voice”. Founder of Art Talks Kholisa Thomas (@kholisa) and poet Lebohang ‘Nova’ Masango (@novatruly) were invited to lead the conversation and speak to the importance of everyday creative habits and the practical side of living a more creative life. The event in NY, themed Free You Mind, Free Your Spine, was conceptualized by Farai and her event was all about blockages; from emotional and mental to physical blockages. They explored the things we do and say that hold us back and the power of freeing your mind. In Harare the Keep Afloat in a Challenging Business Environment event, organized by entrepreneur Langa Lloyd, was about having a space where women could share their challenges, insights and offer support to one another in the context of Zimbabwe’s difficult socio-political environment.

Their Instagram account is a continuation of the conversations that emerge from their events, or as Nandi calls it, the “conversation between the conversation”. Their BLOOM Playlist greatly inspired by their BLOOMERS, can also be found on their IG and is another coordinate in the journey of growth and discovery that the Bloom ladies are trying to map out for and with other women. Suggestions on visual and audio content such as empowering TED talks to watch are shared through the Playlist.

“I cite this often,” says Nandi, “‘The best project you will EVER work on is yourself’. I hope that BLOOM will be a great compliment to the journey of self-discovery and affirmation for all BLOOMERS”.

BLOOM’s Johannesburg coterie will be hosting another conversation in November. To stay up to date with BLOOM news check out their IG account, @bloomorg.

6 October 2016
Chris Saunders: Hyperconnected Fashion

Chris Saunders is an award winning Johannesburg photographer and filmmaker who documents the richness of South African fashion, ranging from subcultures like the Izikhotane to individual street style. A key theme within his work is how fashion connects South Africa to global culture. He has practically applied this in his collaborations with UK producer Okzharp, whose music is released on the cult Hyperdub label. Along with music videos, they also worked together on the 2015 film Ghost Diamond. Starring dancer Manthe Ribane, the film is a visually opulent exploration of Johannesburg which draws on uncanny convergences between Zulu and Japanese mythology.

His latest photographic series extends this theme of cultural convergence. Working with clothes made by the New York based EDUN label, Saunders explores how the garments themselves are reminiscent of local styles. He found striking similarities with both the Swenakas, a classic Zulu fashion culture in which men peacock in designer suits and the Pantsula dance style, which he has long been documenting. Both subcultures are characterised by a competitive edge with adherents trying to outdo each other in both clothes and movement. In this latest shoot he worked again with Manthe Ribane, along with her sister Tebogo, deploying Swenka and Pantsula poses on the streets of Johannesburg. As he describes it ‘We re-interpreted classic masculine poses from the different sub-cultures and posed the shots in the harsh South African summer light, not shying away from its encompassing effect. I wanted to keep it as real as possible, maintaining a sense of believability which is often lost in fashion photography, but maintaining the fantasy of the over the top garments. The results are a less than typical aesthetic, poses which reference by-gone showmanship in masculinity shot in reality’.

Through blending the past and the cutting edge, the work shows the hidden structures of fashion: ‘The images take clothing which is designed in New York, manufactured ethically on the African continent, transported back to the USA and now imagined back in Africa and specifically in Johannesburg’.

26 April 2016