This is the fourth installment of our weekly photo series, featuring the work of African photographers.
This week, meet Brendern Denousse, aka Ukweli.
Hailing from Nairobi, Kenya, the photographer and music producer makes striking digital collages that tow the line between minimalism and maximalism.
He shares with us a collaboration between Kenyan artist Michael Soi and Edna Njau and Wamuyu Chege of Urbstrt.
Denousse notes that Soi’s work touches on controversial, taboo issues in Kenyan society—including commercial sex work and corruption. Through his work, Soi makes a visual diary of Kenya, so that two or three decades from now, young Kenyans can get a sense of today’s Nairobi. Urbstrt is a fashion collective of alternative/hipster inspired street fashion, designers and models. Njau and Chege retail their own brand with clothing, accessories and makeup.
Explaining the process for this shoot, he says:
“I really wanted to emphasize the patterns created by Soi on their bodies by using that as the background of the photos. I mostly used black and white to make the white paint stand out. I edited the photos to make Wamuyu and Edna appear to be subjects of a life like painting.”
To keep up with Denousse, follow him on Tumblr and Instagram, and check out the photos below:
