Hassan Hajjaj

Hassan Hajjaj was born in 1961 in Larache, Morocco and moved to London, United Kingdom in his teens. Influenced by the two cultures, he took an interest on photography with the objective to depict a different side of his home country. His work in photography, film, and fashion captures the essence of his ever-evolving surroundings. Focusing on the story and the people, Hajjaj takes studio portraits of friends, artists, and strangers from the streets of Marrakech, often wearing clothes designed by him. His colorful portraits reminisce of the studio photography of Seydou Keita, combining African fashion and Western design in a creative mix. Hajjaj’s most well-known series, Kesh Angels (2014), showed vibrant and enigmatic portraits of young women wearing veils, djellabah, and luxury branding, sitting astride motorcycles. That series also featured in his film, Karima: A Day in the Life of a Henna Girl, which premiered at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in May 2015.

Lolo Veleko

Nontsikelelo “Lolo” Veleko was born in 1977 in Bodibe, South Africa. She grew up in Cape Town and studied graphic design at the Cape Technikon in 1995. After moving to Johannesburg, she studied photography between 1999 and 2004 at the Market Photo Workshop, an institution co-founded by David Goldblatt in 1989. Veleko has risen to prominence over the past decade thanks to her delighted depiction of the post-apartheid street style and subcultures of Johannesburg. Her work presents a strong statement of a younger generation that is loud, self-expressive, and daring. Her images are immediately recognizable by their explosive color. In her series Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder (2004), Veleko defied the clichés regarding urban life in South Africa by capturing young people dressed in unique outfits, often with handmade elements. In Wonderland (2008), she explored deeper how identity of Africans is perceived and assumed by displaying the unique personalities of eclectically dressed urbanites, and captured the cosmopolitan nature of African cities.

Koto Bolofo

Koto Bolofo was born in 1959 in South Africa and raised in United Kingdom after his family was forced to flee as political refugees. He documented his family’s return to the homeland in a short film entitled The Land is White, the Seed is Black (1995). Bolofo started his career in photography in the 1980s by shooting editorials for Vanity Fair, Vogue, and GQ. His work was never strictly tied to fashion until he captured a model in a translucent nightdress. Bolofo prefers to use film rather than digital format in order to give more depth to his images. He also likes to use natural light, something that arguably takes skill and precision. Bolofo is praised for his ability to present honest beauty. His signature is to forsake gimmickry, respecting subjects and composition. Instead of simply showing up and capturing his subjects, the photographer prefers to spend time getting to know them first. Having captured his subjects mostly in black and white, Bolofo recently introduced colour in several works such as Black Beauty (2008) and Heat (2008), in which bodies are represented vividly.

Sivan Miller

Sivan Miller was born in 1989 in South Africa. He developed a keen interest in photography at an early age when his mother bought him his first digital camera. He initially studied 3D animation but quickly turned to photography. Miller gradually started his career in photography as a teenager, and was already working as a professional photographer in 2007. Being discovered y the legendary talk-show host Oprah Winfrey propelled his career even further. Miller is influenced by the work of Annie Leibowitz, Mario Testino, and a selected group of international photographers. His motifs are also inspired by everyday life and the world around him. His feel for special models, fashion, and locations all combine into cool portraits offering the beholder a new perspective on today’s world. His recent series Chaotic City (2016) depicts a young model who makes her way through a metropolis on high heels, creating an atmosphere of tranquility in that chaos.