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| Style on the streets of west Africa | Style on the streets of west Africa |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| At the mention of street style and photography, the names that may first come to mind are likely to be the Tommy Ton, Scott Schuman (The Sartorialist) and the legendary Bill Cunningham with his weekly column for the New York Times, On The Street. | At the mention of street style and photography, the names that may first come to mind are likely to be the Tommy Ton, Scott Schuman (The Sartorialist) and the legendary Bill Cunningham with his weekly column for the New York Times, On The Street. |
| But turning the focus to what trends might be taking shape on the streets of west Africa, I happened to land on the photos of cinematographer and documentarian Joona Pettersson. | But turning the focus to what trends might be taking shape on the streets of west Africa, I happened to land on the photos of cinematographer and documentarian Joona Pettersson. |
| Escaping Finland's notorious endless winter nights, Pettersson has spent time travelling throughout much of west Africa since 2010. No stranger to nomadic travels and sojourns, the Finnish artist, who studied video art and cinematography in Paris and Moscow respectively, has since completed two art residencies on the continent. The first in Dakar, and then in Grand Popo. It was during the Benin residency at Villa Karo, that his project on street style began to take shape. | Escaping Finland's notorious endless winter nights, Pettersson has spent time travelling throughout much of west Africa since 2010. No stranger to nomadic travels and sojourns, the Finnish artist, who studied video art and cinematography in Paris and Moscow respectively, has since completed two art residencies on the continent. The first in Dakar, and then in Grand Popo. It was during the Benin residency at Villa Karo, that his project on street style began to take shape. |
| Pettersson speaks of encounters and experiences that seem to have escaped Google's extensive spider searches, and stories that fail to make it into mainstream media at large. As we begin talking about his residency at Taf Taf and time in Dakar in 2011, I ask him about the creative vibe and art scene in this city – home to the longest running art biennale on the continent, Dak'Art. | Pettersson speaks of encounters and experiences that seem to have escaped Google's extensive spider searches, and stories that fail to make it into mainstream media at large. As we begin talking about his residency at Taf Taf and time in Dakar in 2011, I ask him about the creative vibe and art scene in this city – home to the longest running art biennale on the continent, Dak'Art. |
| "[It's] a modern city, fresh, dynamic and crazy," he says. One of his favorite moments was the Muslim new year celebration, Tamxarit. Like him, I am a bit surprised to hear that participants dress as the opposite gender and go about town with friends. Visually speaking, it almost sounds like a version of New York's Pride parade. It's moments like these that confirm that new borders need to be delimited, pages on newspaper columns and magazines spreads carved out. I wish fashion could leave the cheetahs, zebras and animal kingdom at large for the pages of National Geographic, and we see more images of stories such as these. | "[It's] a modern city, fresh, dynamic and crazy," he says. One of his favorite moments was the Muslim new year celebration, Tamxarit. Like him, I am a bit surprised to hear that participants dress as the opposite gender and go about town with friends. Visually speaking, it almost sounds like a version of New York's Pride parade. It's moments like these that confirm that new borders need to be delimited, pages on newspaper columns and magazines spreads carved out. I wish fashion could leave the cheetahs, zebras and animal kingdom at large for the pages of National Geographic, and we see more images of stories such as these. |
| I am particularly drawn to the portraits, much like on the mainstay fashion blogs, where we see the individuality of the wearer come through. It is absorbing to see how a silhouette might remain the same – classic, yet interpreted with a contemporary flair through colour or pattern. Or to see just how far global brands do actually reach; the Burberry pattern customised motorbike and rider wins out on that account. Yet the image that I keep coming back to remains the serious-faced Tuareg gentleman all dressed in fuschia. Joona recounts that it was this image and moment in Agadez, Niger that started the series off. He mentions that street photography is very much about intuition – I am inclined to agree. | I am particularly drawn to the portraits, much like on the mainstay fashion blogs, where we see the individuality of the wearer come through. It is absorbing to see how a silhouette might remain the same – classic, yet interpreted with a contemporary flair through colour or pattern. Or to see just how far global brands do actually reach; the Burberry pattern customised motorbike and rider wins out on that account. Yet the image that I keep coming back to remains the serious-faced Tuareg gentleman all dressed in fuschia. Joona recounts that it was this image and moment in Agadez, Niger that started the series off. He mentions that street photography is very much about intuition – I am inclined to agree. |
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