Rwandan Fashion

This was the premise my friend Andrew and I came to as we brainstormed ideas for this photo shoot on my recent trip to Kigali. While I think there was more to be done to fully realize my creative vision for this project (what artist ever does though?), this shoot was a good stretch of my creative abilities.

I loved collaborating with Lee Charm, an aspiring model who has collaborated with many up-and-coming Rwandan fashion brands, as well as Solange, who is wearing Moshions and Inco (made in Rwanda), and Imad Eduso (made in Lagos) in these photos.

As I’ve been thinking about my career ambitions or more simply “what I want to do with my life”, I often think about my role as a visual communicator. I take the responsibility of communicating seriously, even if I don’t have the largest audience or critical acclaim. There is a sense of journalistic integrity that I believe in, especially when it comes to my documentary-style work. Yet I feel that even with my more artistic work, there is still a truth that I want to aspire to that goes beyond just accurately representing the scene in front of my camera.

Images reflect reality, but they can also create a new version of reality. Small choices can change everything: you can crop something out of sight, or use lighting to emphasize a part of your subject. You can make a hundred other creative choices that will influence what viewers see and how they feel. As I think about the stories I want to create through the images I craft, I am motivated to make the world a little better with my creative decisions.

This photo shoot was one small exercise in asking how I might play a small role in reshaping peoples’ perception of Africa – and more specifically, Rwanda. Americans (and perhaps even more so, American evangelicals) have been told a certain impoverished narrative about Africa, and I hope these images confront that skewed view and offers a different story of Rwanda’s flourishing creative industry.

During the research for this project I discovered a number of Africans who are already using their creative photography talents to portray a brighter narrative of their country. There are so many, but here are a few to check out: Sarah Waiswa, Franck Axel Nyabagabo (I got to meet him in Kigali!), Craven Mupenda, and Sunny Dolat.

There is so much creativity blooming around the world, and I want to be a part of telling those stories.