Yann Lapnet’s ‘Juju Studio’ Frontlines Black Transcendence.

Yann Lapnet

Juju represents something beyond our shallow understanding of life, something mysterious. It is a belief system in a lot of African cultures, which incorporates the use of masks and amulets and is supported by various rituals and dances.

When it comes to visual storytelling, artists label their brands with unique epithets. Yann Lapnet isn’t any different. He refers to himself as a ‘digital alchemist.’ He is indeed one, perhaps the reason we were taken by the charm of his images to make him our spotlight star for this week. Jokes apart, Yann steadily overthrows the ugly images the rest of the world have about Africa and the Black race, through the magical coalition of his lens and his aesthetic direction.

Yann is a spotlight star worth celebrating, and this is his story...

I am a very curious storyteller, fashion enthusiast, and digital alchemist based in the Bay Area. I am originally from Bali-Nyonga, a town located in the North-West region of Cameroon. I grew up in Yaoundé, Harare and now, San Jose.

One can argue that our ability to rekindle memories through photographs really influenced my passion for photography. In addition to this, my family members and friends are the people I hold dear to my heart, and the opportunity to immortalize them with the optics of a camera is truly magical. My passion for photography gave birth to my visual art brand, juju studio, a vessel dedicated to the edification of Blackness.