I love it when my friends do cool things. And my friend Shivan, also known as the photographer Gathum, is involved in something very cool. Tomorrow is the opening of the Exhibition Questionable Intimacy in which he produced all the amazing (and I mean AMAZING Imagery for. Of course, I had to interview him, to give you – you lucky thing, the low down.
SP: First off, when is the exhibition, and how much is it?
The opening night it on 7th of July at 7 pm at Lot 23, the exhibition is free and will be displayed at Lot 23 until the end of August.
SP: Tell me a bit about the concept behind this project and your involvement.
G: Motivated by a desire to share a story, inspire and heal Makanaka Tuwe’s ‘Questionable Intimacy’ – what goes in, out and around’ is a celebration of black girl magic, womanhood and a raw documentation of the self-love journey. Questionable Intimacy is a book of poetry self-published by Maka. I was invited into this collaboration as a photographer with the job to best represent these raw poems into visual art in the form of photos.
The concept behind this book, these photos were to invoke emotion. Showing the multiple sides of the women and taking the readers on a journey through the eyes of Maka.
SP: What made you interested this project, and how have you grown as an artist from it? Is it not your usual high fashion style?
G: Reading through the poems, getting to know Maka and the passion she has for her people and women, I knew this would be a unique project. It is very different from my usual work but I feel as an artist you can’t be confined to one style you must always expand, grow, learn and stretch yourself. I have grown so much through this process. It taught me thaI’mIm not restristricted to just high fashion and I cant be confied to one style of photography & styling.
SP: As an non- European, are the themes close to your heart? Why do you think projects like this are important to introduce to the mainstream?
G: I think regardless if you are European, non-European, man or women there’s something in the book and images everyone can connect to. This book, the images are through the eyes of a women showcasing the power “black girl magic”, showing someone on a journey of self-love, a women getting to know her deep rooted past and how her ancestors shaped who she is now. Which is something very close to my heart. It’s very important for projects like this to be introduced to mainstream. Breaking the norms of “Euro”/”celebrity” dominated media. Allowing artists from various backgrounds to showcase their work and bring in their perspectives and allow others to look at a piece of work through a different point of view.
SP: What is your favourite piece?
My favourite pieces are the black and white images we took with the body paint.
Wht are you working on in the near future?
I have a few projects upcoming but it’s all SHHH for now 😀
