5 Black Conceptual Photographers You Should Know
Updated: Jul 5, 2022
Conceptual photography is a style that expresses an idea. Usually, the image has a story or a deeper significance. Before taking the picture, the photographer chooses the idea and works to capture it as accurately as possible.
In terms of portraiture, abstract faces, geometric shapes, brilliantly caught colors, and surreal details are frequently used. Some artists transform self-portraits into conceptual art as it is a category under portrait photography.
Due to the distinctive post-processing techniques used to portray many of the ideas, the specialty has a strong connection to Photoshop art.
These are the 5 black conceptual photographers we think you should know!
David Uzochukwu
David Uzochukwu is only a 23 years old self-taught artist who has impressively already built a profession to compete with photographers who have decades or even more of experience.
The creative, who was born in Austria and reared in Luxembourg, photographed FKA twigs for a Nike advertisement and then worked with her on a zine. In addition, he has photographed celebrities like Pharrell Williams and Ibeyi and worked on a Missoni x Pigalle commercial. Not bad for a teenager who learned Photoshop in his bedroom by himself.
David describes his work, which frequently features neon skies, deformed bodies, and otherworldly themes, as "I go for amazement and vulnerability." "I'm merely attempting to shed emotional baggage. It has a purifying effect. David creates surreal self-portraits that appear to have been taken on Mars: conceptual photography themes.
Oye Diran
New York City-based fashion and fine art photographer from Nigeria. Oye Diran was born in Lagos, Nigeria, and later migrated with his family to New York. Diran's style is distinct and modern, blending flashes of color with intricate designs that capture the spirit of his themes and a bold eye to capture and create real emotion through pictures.
To date, Diran's work has appeared on numerous websites, including CNN, BBC, NATAAL, Colossal, LensCulture, and Kinfolk.
In Diran's work, the beauty of people of color is a major theme. The elegance and grace that has long been misunderstood by society. He uses fine art and conceptual topics in his images to try to capture this allure.
Ásiko
A Nigerian-born (and -raised) British citizen, who is a conceptual photographer whose work is grounded by the insertion of his emotional experiences into a lifelong, cultural, and spiritual examination of his Yoruba ancestry.
His work is inspired by a desire to become more self-aware, to express himself authentically, and create a visual language that expresses new ways to comprehend the liberating potential of African diasporic identity.
Giancarlo Laguerta
He is a Botswana-based self-taught multidisciplinary artist. He created collages and photographs of introspective humans.
He has worked with a variety of media, but right now his favorite brush is a camera. His art contributes to the creation of a poetic, thought-provoking ambiance by attempting to capture unique personalities.
Mohau Modisakeng
A Soweto native who divides his time between Johannesburg and Cape Town.
In 2009, he earned his undergraduate degree from the Michaelis School of Fine Art in Cape Town, and he continued there to pursue his master's degree. His writings address racial issues, societal militarization, and the stark divisions that exist in post-apartheid South Africa and the post-colonial continent.
He challenges the shared stories that shape how we perceive the world, especially those that portray the black body as a place of disintegration and distortion.
Modisakeng finished in the top three of the MTN New Contemporaries competition in 2010, received the Sasol New Signatures Award in 2011, and was named the Standard Bank Artist of the Year (VISUAL ART) in 2016.