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

John Baloyi began by assisting a variety of photographers in order to familiarize himself with the industry, although he struggled to fit in the commercial scene due to the fact that his work was considered « too artsy ». After much introspection he made the conscious decision to be more intentional with his work and began shooting fine art photography. Being African, he wanted to document the unique experience of black people, portraying them as works of art. The prominent themes of his work are colorism within the black community, love and social identity as well as symbolic themes from an African perspective. The main goal or purpose of his work is to inspire an alternative perspective of people of color as a whole and to present them as works of art.

EXPERIENCE

• Shot for publications such as Destiny Magazine, Campaigns for fashion brands such as Levis, Adidas, Bisquit Cognac & Standard Bank

EXHIBITIONS

• AKAA Art Fair in France 2019
• DYMAN GALLERY « Abantu » (The People) 2019