I recently teamed up with the talented Rozi Birk at Image Alchemy and model Nolwazi Kunene to create an editorial series to enter into the popular Collaboration: Mastered.

Collaboration: Mastered interprets South African icon Nelson Mandela as Warrior for Change.

This project is part of a series of opportunities driven by photographer Nick Knight and other leaders in the fashion industry.This short course ran over a month and required participants to collaborate with other professionals in their area to create something out-of-the-box that they would normally think in.

The brief “The Future belongs to Outsiders” suggests that our world is created by the “non-conformists, weirdos, iconoclasts and disrupters”, who’s views often put them in opposition with the mainstream traditions of the time. I couldn’t think of anyone more suitable to represent than our South African hero and world-wide icon of peace: Nelson Mandela. A man who spent a third of his life in solitude due to his unwavering passion for equality.

Together Rozi and I discussed how we could present our leader. We decided to work with metallic geometric shapes, and Rozi suggested a head piece that looks like prison bars but also a crown to represent how Madiba went from being incarcerated to being a leader. We also included tribal aspects to show that he was a warrior for peace. While Rozi crafted the various props and worked on the styling, I sourced Nolwazi as our protagonist. We worked with a female model as I wanted to show equality of not only race, but also sex… Freedom for all. Lastly we decided to work golden tones to represent our city of gold: Johannesburg.

You can see more from this project in the gallery HERE.

Credits
Capture & Retouch | Natalie Field Photography
Styling & Props | Rozi Birk at Image Alchemy
MUAH | Rozi Birk at Image Alchemy
Model | Nolwazi Kunene