Take a look at Thandiwe Muriu's portfolio, and you'll be enthralled by a dizzying array of bright and bold prints, which reflects the sentiments of African vibrancy and diversity that inform the photographer's work. Based in Kenya, Muriu is a self-taught visual artist committed to rendering the beauty of Black African womanhood hyper-visible.
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Speaking to Muriu, she shares that her vision is a response to the lack of representation she's experienced in the art world, "At about the age of 16, I really struggled with how I looked, and I hated my features. I hated my hair, and I always wanted something else. I realised a lot of the imagery that I was seeing showed women in a way that I couldn't look." Muriu presents as a coily-haired, dark-skinned, full-featured woman and is proud of it. It's this phenotype that is replicated in her work, with melanin-rich models and intricate indigenous hairstyles set against multi-layered Ankara fabric backgrounds. The end result offers an intense viewing experience. No matter where your eyes lay on a Muriu photo, there is something going on, whether through texture, colour, or shape. In turn, concepts of female beauty through an African, more specifically Kenyan, lens take centre-stage.
We can look at a shot that she took of Kenyan model, author and business woman Paynette Joan Nyawara for Marc Jacobs as an example. With Nyawara's parted lips revealing a prominent gap between her teeth, Muriu explains that having a gap between your front teeth is seen as "a sign of incredible beauty" among Kenya's Kikuyu ethnic group, from which both the artist and model descend. "The models that I use in my images are also representations of what beauty is like in my culture", she adds.
The Ankara print fabrics that typify the artist's portfolio also envisage the local style and beauty that Muriu is accustomed to, "Ankara print is something we actually wear on a daily basis. It's a print you'd wear to weddings. You'd wear it when you want to look really good. And so it's a big part of our beauty culture."
But it's not just in front of the lens that Muriu's presence is significant. As a Black, African woman, operating behind the camera comes with its own set of implications. "In Kenya, being a photographer is viewed very much as a man's job. And so it took a little convincing to let people know that I am capable, I can do it", the photographer reveals. She goes on to recall incidents where her expertise was assumed to be more junior than they were, on account of her gender, "I have a male assistant, and many times we'd walk on set, at least in the beginning, and clients would begin to talk directly to him and tell him, 'You're the photographer, and this is what we're going to do today.' And I'd always have to smile and say, 'Actually, I'm the photographer.'
Unfortunately, this minoritised context for women image-makers follows a longstanding tradition of female erasure within film and photography. When looking at the canon of African pioneers within the field, postcolonial figures like Malick Sidibe, Seydou Keita, and Ousmane Sembene are propped up as the forerunners of the continent's "golden age" — but where are the women?
Consequently, Muriu imposes a female gaze on understandings of African womanhood, femininity, and beauty that stands out against a male-dominated view. Muriu's mother, a graphic designer, older sister, a fashion designer, are two female figures in her life who have shaped her creative journey. Indeed, the photographer credits her creative family background for her interest and success in the arts, a stance which greatly contrasts Kenya's "very conservative culture", according to the image-maker. "My parents required us to learn a musical instrument growing up. So I was always exposed to all these nonscientific ways of expressing myself." After trying out singing, drawing, and the piano, to limited avail, it was being taught how to use a DSLR (digital camera) by her dad at around age 14, which finally sparked her ingenuity. She beams as she describes what it felt like to hold the camera for the first time, "It was just instant chemistry. I can't explain it. It just felt perfect."
The artist used this mentorship to launch her own business in the field. As a high-schooler, Muriu would practice photography techniques after doing her homework and read about film technology until dusk. With this grounding, she gained an internship, working under the tutelage of other photographers. She explains how this experience gave her the skill set to launch her business, aged 17, "They helped me learn the business side of photography and how to make a living as a creative." she continues, saying, "I began shooting personal pictures for people for Facebook. And then, I transitioned into shooting corporate events. And then I slowly went into shooting digital advertising, and then eventually where I ended up, which is commercial advertising above the line, so for billboards and the like."
Though an impassioned photographer, Muriu holds a degree in marketing, achieved in 2015 from USIU (United States International University in Kenya) , and has no formal training in the field due to the lack of courses available in the country. She owes all her current knowledge to YouTube and mentorship from others in the industry. She cites Mutua Matheka and Osborne Macharia, two Kenyan photographers, with the latter now living in Canada, as key influencing factors on her craft. "He lives outside the box. He is such a creative mind. He taught me how to not be afraid of exploring my mind as a creative and doing the unconventional", she says about Matheka. Meanwhile, she praises Macharia for teaching her "the thought process behind a project and the need for personal work and how to execute it well." Muriu boldly states that she would not be a photographer today if it wasn't for the wisdom of these two figures.
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Now aged 31, with 17 years in the game, the photographer is mapping out her practice across Kenya's borders. Though she's done shows across Europe, November 2021 marked her first international show where she was physically present. From 13th of November 2021 to 5th of December 2021, she showcased her work at the SCOPE exhibition in Miami, Florida, which she described as having been "an incredible experience". Gushing, she continues, "I began exhibiting for the first time in 2020. And so, I have never had the experience of watching people interact in person with my prints. Because of COVID, of course, I couldn't travel whenever I was exhibiting. So this is the first time I've gotten to do it in person. And it was incredibly exciting and fulfilling to see people look at the pictures, find one that resonates with them, ask questions about it and discuss among themselves. There's nothing like it."
Working from an East African vantage point, being able to translate her understandings of beauty to a global audience also proved to be a meaningful venture, especially in the context of influencing young girls across the diaspora: "It was amazing to watch children do that because there are some children who came to the fair, and I was incredibly excited to see, especially little girls, be drawn to the images and be able to find something to relate within the images."
With fresh experiences come fresh ideas, and Muriu hopes to incorporate the insight gained from this international exposure to work in the continent, especially her homeland of Kenya. "My trip [to Miami] has meant I feel so inspired and excited and refreshed, and I can't wait to go and translate all those feelings into actual images for next year. I am incredibly passionate about, in the long term, creating culturally relevant content for other photographers in Africa", she reveals. Her plans for the future involve fostering young and local talent, ideally through photography courses that teach both the commercial and creative aspects of the field.
Ultimately, Muriu is a visionary within the art of photography both in front of and behind the lens. We look forward to seeing what 2022 has in store for the rousing creative.