Although textiles and photography are quite contrasting, they both improve the composition of the resulting artwork. Some African artists print their images on second-hand cloth that gives an organic texture. Others try to repurpose used fabrics and fringes in their work, inviting viewers to reflect on the impact of global textile waste on the environment. Thus, each art piece has a dual meaning: one which tells a story relevant to the artist, and another which challenges the way we view things.

Zohra Opuku

Born in 1976 in Altdöbern, Germany, Zohra Opuku is a Ghanaian multidisciplinary artist based in Accra, Ghana. She graduated in Fashion at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences and worked as a designer before focusing on art. Opuku’s photography is expressed through screen-printing and alternative photo-processing on various natural fabrics. Her work relays social commentary and wider investigations into cultural identity, particularly through dress codes. In her Harmattan Tales (2018) series, Opoku spent time with Muslim women from several countries to explore varying interpretations of the veil. She produced various portraits based on overprinted and re-stitched images, some with additional physical adornments or great sweeping brushstrokes.

Collin Sekajugo

Collin Sekajugo was born in 1980 in Masaka, Uganda. Although he did not study art at school, Sekajugo was exposed to a variety of art techniques during a study tour through the Southern African region. That experience helped him to bridge the gap between art and community in Africa, and reflect on his social conscience. Sekajugo work explores the human figure using photography, embroidery, and collage to critique Western perception of Africa and highlight people’s shared humanity. He often uses recycle materials to evoke Uganda’s diverse social fabric and his place in it. In his early series, Sekajugo masked his subjects face or certain body parts to symbolize the dichotomy of identity versus discrimination based on ethnicity or social class. Ultimately, his collages invite conversation on durability and sustainability as a metaphor to the cliché Africa does not produce art.

Marion Boehm

Marion Boehm was born in 1964 in Duisburg, Germany. She studied Interior Design and worked as interior architect in Europe before moving to South Africa in 2010. She settled with her family in Johannesburg, where she taught art to children and worked on a private community project in Kliptown, a suburb in the township of Soweto. Her multiple encounters in that locality influenced her artistic practice. Working with jewelry and fabrics such as Shweshwe cloths, Boehm explored the daily life of African women through unique portraits. In her Silent Beauty (2014) series, Boehm challenged preconceived notions of beauty and resilience contrary to what was published in fashion magazines. Her work offers a nuanced perspective on the daily struggles faced by the dwellers, inviting viewers to engage in a dialogue about femininity and diversity.

Tuli Mekondjo

Born in 1982 in Sumbe, Angola to Namibian parents in exile, Tuli Mekondjo is a self-taught artist based in Windhoek, Namibia. Her work explores history and identity politics in relation to Namibia’s violent past during the independence war. She uses a variety of media including painting, embroidery, and photo-transfer to reframe imagery from historical photographs. Drawing on ethnographic photos of indigenous Namibian people, Mekondjo’s multilayered works result from a process of burial and retrieval, literally and figuratively. She often composes artworks with performative photographs of herself to create her own narrative. She also pays homage to her ancestors through embroidered imagery which evokes personal and collective trauma with beauty, strength and optimism.