‘Being African, John Baloyi wanted to document the unique experience of black people, portraying them as works of art.’

John Baloy is a photographer and visual artist based in Johannesburg. He grew up in the South of Johannesburg in a small township called Evaton West. Growing up he had always been interested in the arts from a very young age, He loved drawing and sketching. In high school he did visual arts which fueled his interest in the arts even more and he knew from then that whatever career path he would choose, art had to be center of it. After High school he did not get a chance to pursue higher education in any art field but he got a Job as a graphic designer and worked there for about 6 months after which he moved into the mining industry where he worked as an Automotive Electrician for 4 years. He started shooting in 2013 because he was inspired by accounts he saw on instagram namely Iseeadifferentyou, Rog Walker, Streetetiquette & Andile Buka. He started being interested more and more into the art of making photos by being exposed to their work which then led to him buying his first camera. He figured that shooting only on weekends was not enough and that he became obsessed with making photos and he wanted to make photography his career so he quit his job in February 2017 to become a freelance photographer. His journey as a photographer has since then been a fruitful one as he has collaborated with many brands and featured on prestigious publications such as DESTINY magazine and has worked with brands such as Bombay Sapphire, Adobe, Adidas, Markham, Mr Price , Bisquit Cognac just to name a few. He has since then been able to exhibit his work in France at the AKAA Art Fair 2019 as well as the Abantu Exhibition 2019 with Dyman Gallery.

He document the unique experience of black people through surreal and Afrocentric lens with the intention to portray people of colour as works of art. His themes aim to evoke an alternative view of people of colour to educate and change the subjects perspective of themselves.

ARTIST STATEMENT

My Journey as a Photographer started in 2017 when I left my secular employment as an Automotive Electrician. I then began assisting for different photographers to be familiar with the industry which led to me to shoot a lot of commercial work for various brands and campaigns. I struggled to fit in the commercial scene because my work was always considered too artsy. After a lot of introspection I made a conscious decision to be more intentional with my work and I began shooting fine art photography. Being African, I wanted to document the unique experience of black people portraying them as works of art. The prominent theme of my work is colourism within the black community, Love and social identity as well as symbolic themes from an African perspective. The main goal or purpose of my work is to inspire an alternative perspective of people of colour as a whole and presenting them as work of art.

EXHIBITIONS & FEATURES

• AKAA Art Fair in France 2019
• DYMAN GALLERY « Abantu » (The People) 2019
• Featured on VSCO 2020.
• Featured on CRWN Magazine 2020
• Featured on The Guardian 2020
• Undiscovered Canvas Concept Store Exhibition 2020.
• Latitudes Art Fair 2020.
• Hopes & Dreams Exhibition Barnard Gallery 2020.
• PORTR – 8 Exhibition London 2020.
• PRIZM Art Fair Miami 2020.