Curation
WILLIAM NDTIRA
Words
XANTHE SOMERS
Film
BILAL BASHIR
Guest editor Willy Ndatira curates five photographers whose work represents community, family and togetherness
This issue’s guest editor is Willy Ndatira aka William Cult — designer, creative consultant and co-founder of the experimental fashion collective CULT.11AD, with clients including Gucci, AnOther and Fantastic Man. For Nataal he has put together a curation of images from fi ve photographers situated across three continents whose work is rooted in the themes of community, family and togetherness. The global upheavals of the past year have brought into sharp focus the gravity of community. This selection is a celebration of what it is to witness the power that radiates from the presence of others. Raw from our recent states of separation, we need to retaliate in equal measure with a renewed kinship — the ‘us, we, them’ is what these photographers explore. Watch the short introductory fi lm by Ndatira before discovering their work in this special section of the magazine.
update to full film on vimeo
Ruby Okoro
Nigerian visual artist and portrait photographer Ruby Okoro examines the complex relationship between the Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba people in this series, All We Need. “This project is intended to shed light on the toxic nature of what our relationships have become as different ‘sets’ of people held together by the same borders,” he explains. “We feed off each other’s shortcomings in a bid to feel superior when in reality we need to be whole. Freely giving, freely receiving, togetherness.” This melting pot of people is presented through images of three young men in nature, beckon closeness, intimacy and kinship.
Nydia Blas
“Togetherness is an act of beauty. A feeling. Togetherness can happen after accomplishing a diffi cult task with a partner or co-worker. A feeling of resolution after a disagreement with a close friend. It, me, you, us, sometimes them,” refl ects Nydia Blas in response to our theme. Assistant professor in the Department of Art and Visual Culture at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, her personal practice addresses sexuality, intimacy and her lived experience as a Black woman and mother. Blas views community as a call to action. “Communities can work together. Communities can be collectively and purposely marginalised, speak back, burn things down,” she explains. “Communities can rise up and speak words of peace and anger. Communities can spit you out and then welcome you home.” These sentiments are seen in her poignant images whose subjects’ gaze confronts you in reclamation.
Salomé Trezise
Currently studying at University of the Arts London, Salomé Trezise presents Dysfunctional Families. The series spotlights the negative typecasts consistently associated with Black families. The French-Senegalese-British artist’s work is an ode to the chaos that exists within familial structures and how these come to defi ne us. “Family is an essential support system,” she states. “The warm and comforting feeling of knowing that regardless of outside circumstances, you and your loved ones form a united and tight knit front.” Trezise’s work is a reminder that ‘family’ can be defi ned in plural and porous forms, which take many forms.
Kwabena Sekyi Appiah-Nti
Belgian-Ghanaian artist Kwabena Sekyi Appiah-Nti defi nes togetherness as “safety.” In his first years as an image-maker, Sekyi became intent on photographing individuals who live on the fringes of society, often negatively perceived or stereotypically portrayed; the “underdogs,” he calls them. His lens most often lands on young Black men, as seen in his ongoing series Golden Boys and recently released the photo book Sika Kokoo, a visual ode to Ghana. Here we see his poetic images delivered in a palette of inviting tones that radiate a hazy softness, showcasing his subjects in an idealised and dignified way.
Xavier Scott Marshall
Trinidadian-American artist Xavier Scott Marshall presents a series of portraits created in close collaboration with Ndatira, Scott Marshall’s mentor, as a response to the theme of this issue. His obsession with image-making began at a very young age, stealing his mother’s camera to take pictures around the house. He later landed an internship with Steven Klein and at only 22, the trailblazer opened his fi rst studio, securing his status as a photographer-to-watch. “These images are an expression of contemporary Blackness, but in a real way. Not just focused on Black models or Black hair, but on everyday people who are not considered beautiful by today’s standards of Blackness,” Scott Marshall explains of his motivation behind this project. The artist believes photography can be transactional and voyeuristic, so for this shoot he wanted something richer. He decided to street-cast people he met in his neighbourhood of Bed-Stuy in Brooklyn, where the artist has spent the majority of his life. “Most of the people were shocked that I wanted to take their picture, thinking they were not conventionally attractive,” he remarks. Through getting to know his subjects, each portrait led onto the next, weaving a visual narrative linking image to image, and person to person. “People together is not the same as togetherness. Togetherness is being interwoven with the space you reside in,” he concludes.
Curation WILLAM DIRA
Words XNTE SOMES
Film BLAL ASIR
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