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The essence of great art maneuvers the rig of new lights on past questions, passions, birthing more out of thin air. In the process, it encourages the mind to reimagine old truths, skillfully guiding an audience towards a mine of mouth-widening introspections, and even more profound, more circular, eye-opening depths.
Gabriel Moses, a photographer and director from South London, deftly channels his Nigerian heritage to explore these depths. With regard to the representation of blackness, his images seem to overflow with unforeseen intensity. They are an unapologetic claim of identity. Ironically, limiting the portrayal of blackness at surface level used to be a commonality in Western-centered media. Sidekicks, servants or stand-ins, black people were typecast in all kinds of secondary roles but in Moses photographs, they are center stage.
Understood thematically, his boldness is a long-awaited homage to a community of people that were historically denied their depth. The act of ‘humanizing’ he deploys with his subjects will profoundly mold his legacy, but already is a component of what makes his imagery so compelling. In each photograph, time has stopped or perhaps slowed, and a moment is taken to admire the particularity of a scene taken out of his imagination. The effect is distinctively unfamiliar, deceptively blunt, at times eerie, yet undeniably caring, when it comes to his treatment of the subject.
The atmospheric feel – a characteristic somber mood – conveys a mystical sense of confinement and alienation. In between the walls, rich tones and vibrant colors speak for themselves, making the first impression, the second, and the third, all the more evocative. An unfiltered realm of emotions is accessed as he narrows our awareness through a minimalist composition. As follows, his vision of the subject is realized, honoring full individuality in a quiet demonstration of strength. It is understood that blackness bears incredible vitality, even if Moses makes that statement in the shadows.
On the fourth floor of the WSA building, when I opened the doors of the exhibit “FATIMA”, I entered a world that was both immediately foreign and welcoming. The images were redemptive, commanding and loving all at the same time. Seeing one of his photographs felt so effortlessly like being in my own head, alone with my thoughts. “It’s that real” says one of his captions. Moses’ work is immersive, expansive, like being let in on a secret – a tell of successful world-building. The frames could as easily hide a story he has already written for them and stashed away, as they could be a canvas ready for the viewer’s creativity at play.
This interactive kind of world-building is an important part of what can make an artist’s contribution valuable. The characters that make up Moses’ world are figures often told they have no place of belonging. Between black ballerinas, cowboys, gum-chewing and gun-holding mothers-to-be, the very fact of their existence is radical. Underground, there is acceptance, connection, codes, originality, and most importantly, ownership of self. To echo the words of Ousmane Sembène: “We should not be eternal guests.” And Moses is not only afraid to take up space but also clearly intentional about creating it for those around him.
In fact, the world he creates is deeply rooted in the one he came up in. Much of his work is dedicated to the women in his life. Symbolically, their names point to a culture of nurture and stylistic influence which he deliberately pays gratitude to. His upbringing reveals to be an anchor for the introspective mise-en-scène that has differentiated his current catalog from the rest. It sets the precedent to do with what you have, for the sole reason that it is enough. And why conform? Inspired by West African photographers such as Malick Sidibé, Moses continues a tradition that celebrates black culture with each shot captured. Family, self-knowledge, and an eye for the melodramatic seem to naturally translate into his work. The cultural pride that imbues the character of his images is palpable.
Iconography features in many facets of our everyday. We are constantly flooded with images that subconsciously affect us. However, genuine representation isn’t just a trivial demand, it is a luxury. In many ways, Moses is participating in a reversal of the trends that, for so long, governed the fashion industry. A defining aspect of this is the presentation of black skin – a skin that was whitened, bleached, made lighter in order to fit a different mold than its own. In Moses photographs, that skin is portrayed as it is, if not darker, indicating a cultural shift of blackness towards self-assurance, integrity rather than denial. Emphasizing this stance, the poses are active, poised, confident, projecting a cinematic appeal which reasons why this fascinating angle is rapidly being brought onto the global stage.
In the midst of the perpetual trade-off between the immediate moment and the future, where does a vision meet reality? The artists we find ourselves captivated by are usually those who have the ability to construct a world that provides something that the one we occupy lacks. The very concept of utopia revolves about the imaginings of these possible worlds – the best possible outcomes. Yet, In a much local approach, it is also about the relationship between the perception of an image and its attainability, or unattainability – photography as a paradigm. Artists and theorists become references when they make audiences aware of new possibilities. Upstream in the creative process, it is rewarding part to observe the exchange between decay and modernity, mixing the proportions of life in ways that result in pure discoveries. In continual conversation, the battles between effervescent universals leads to a triumph of the particular.
To me, change is like a light that you turn on, take faith in, and let be your guide – in hope of guiding the next person.
Gabriel Moses is an example of a new wave of artists that lays the tracks for the undergoing rejuvenation of the African creative industry. From how certain abstractions come to life, some can finally see parts of themselves reconstructed in an identity that was always significantly more complex than acknowledged. Intangibles hold meaning that we can’t always articulate in words. As part of the diaspora, Moses embraces the intimacy of that translation in a beautiful and enigmatic dark.
To you, what does change look like? What does it sound like? What does it feel like?
