I want to focus on black love in my imagery and create work that celebrates us and captures our diversity so that we feel seen and are represented.
Nature. Diversity. Finding a means of relating people and the environment “to liken the diversity found in nature to the diversity found within the black community.” Tandekile goes on to explain his creative expression by stating that it is aimed at “Highlighting and honoring our difference and in the same breath celebrating the individual and the progress they have made in the actualization of their existence in a system that was created for black love to not exist.”
Stepping into the world of creativity the stylist, photographer and all-round creative he initially wanted to model. “…so I would create these fashion editorials that I would conceptualize, style and model in and I’d hit up a photographer whose work I admired from Instagram and they would help me bring my vision to life.” As time progressed Tandekile began automating his creativity towards directing and producing bodies of work within this capacity.
Opting for the analogue model of shooting Tandekile justifies this decision by saying that it allows him to be more present in the moment with the muse of his choice. The anticipation of the art of reading light is near intoxicating.
An interesting facet of his creative expression is the way in which he chooses to collaborate with other photographers in order to guarantee a myriad of perspectives for a body of work. But what is the message? “To aim higher and be unapologetic in our expression of self”.
Self-taught and only shooting for about three years the image auteur has captured my heart with his sensitive depictions. For more of Tandekile Mkize‘s work follow him on Instagram.
