After seven years spent traversing the dunes of sub-Saharan Africa, photographer John Kenny presents a poignant collection of portraits of Africa's people at his upcoming exhibition, African Beauty. By Alexandra Davey.
The British photographer's distinctive portraits, on show from late May at The Africa Centre in London, are starkly removed from the landscapes so synonymous with African imagery. Instead of capturing wide expanses of game reserve and towering baobab trees, he chooses to shoot his subjects - Africa's inhabitants - in isolation, lit by dramatic chiaroscuro effect against simple black and white backgrounds.
The technique, more reminiscent of classical Italian art than of conventional travel photography, lends a rare intensity and intimacy that gives Kenny's work its arresting quality.But most arresting are the sitters themselves, who range from inhabitants of Ethiopia to Niger and wear traditional dress, reflecting their individual identity and that of their respective communities.
Each vivid item of clothing - each swathe of fabric, each hairclip, each coloured bead and copper ring - tells something of their daily lives, and their status within a wider context.The result? A series of powerful images that express each subject's distinct character - and that provide an enlightening, ethnographic insight into the diversity of African life and style. black and white oil on 48x37