"NKOSOZANA": Fantastic Princesses of Africa

EVERY DAY PHOTOGRAPHERS AROUND THE WORLD looking for new ways to tell stories or to capture what we previously did not notice. We choose interesting photo projects and ask their authors what they wanted to say. This week is the NKOSOZANA series by South African photographer Dylan Davis, a graduate of the AAA School of Advertising in Cape Town. Davis was self-taught, starting to develop his passion for photography from the age of 14, and developed a style through practice and art director. At the age of 24, Dylan Davis left his historic homeland and moved to Dublin, but he did not lose interest in the culture of South Africa - for the NKOSOZANA series ("princess" in the language of the people of Spit in South Africa), he invented non-existent princesses of African tribes, each of which has own history, style and destiny.

My main idea was to create a series of portraits of princesses of African tribes, but in a complete image - complete with historical background and in ceremonial clothes. On each image the princess is presented in her solemn dress and photographed so as to show her strength and valor. The arrogance of the plan, however, was that the entire collection of images was completely fictional and far-fetched. Each princess, by the way, has its own story - also invented, but it is perfect for her and gives it realism (you can read in detail on the website). Considering the territory of South Africa and its rich past, it begins to seem that somewhere in the expanses of the continent you can really find all these princesses. NKOSOZANA celebrates the abundance of culture and diversity of South Africa and its peoples.

I originally painted the entire series - these were black and white images that could be turned into a very expressive wardrobe with the help of stylists. Because of this, the photos turned out to be static - there is no movement there, but due to the composition, the emphasis in the original idea was slightly shifted. It was assumed that the series would represent real historical portraits, and although this was approximately what happened, due to saturated backgrounds in combination with hyperbolic poses, all the photos turned out to be a kind of nod towards fashion and pop culture.

The final point in the realization of my photographic ambitions was the filming of the entire series on film. Although this is an expensive and time-consuming process, the ostentatious imperfection of film photography, a vivid interpretation of detail and color combined with outfits added realism and authenticity to all images.

I tried to be faithful to African culture in my approach to shooting, so the girls I shot as princesses do not look like typical models — too thin and tall. I managed to focus on the models that best corresponded to the spirit and history of each individual princess. Given that the girls were selected on the basis of their nature, the final result added a series of credibility that professional models would not have been able to bring. The series itself is a hymn of arrogance, which we managed to perform with the help of girls with a bright personality.

I am convinced that a successful photo should offer a thought, point of view, explanation or understanding that both serve as a challenge and make you think outside the box and expectation. For this reason, I do not consider landscape photography to be less or more interesting than portraits or street photos — they are simply tools that the photographer has at his disposal. To paraphrase, at first there was a thought - and then its explanation using the camera.