“Kweku Yeboah’s work is confident, proud and packs a visual punch every time. His use of colour, clothing, and his sensibility for interesting staging makes Yeboah one of the most exciting photographers coming out of the continent now. Indebted to the great Ghanaian portraitists, Felicia Abban and James Barnor, his work captures the vibrancy, style and energy of his hometown Accra from his point of view, a young man looking out at the world full of hope and desire. His work frequently focuses on male subjects and queers traditional ideas about African men, machismo and masculinity – he can dress a model in a frothy bridal gown and have him sit on a motorbike, and it feels as natural as two boxers posing with fists raised. I especially like the softer, more elegiac and dreamlike moments he shoots at the beach, capturing bodies intertwining in an intimate dance. He has an remarkable ability to draw out emotion and mystery, that to me is what truly makes his work stand out. I think people are going to really connect with it when they see it at Photo London.”

“Spirituality, gender, and society serve as the focal points of my vision, where I delve into how African society is molded by tradition, norms, and culture” Yeboah explains. “This includes a focus on extended family dynamics, social values, and the roles assigned to different genders. The pressure on men to conform to societal expectations of masculinity has led to a crisis of self-expression, particularly within the confines of religious and cultural norms.”

For Yeboah, photography, art and fashion are all ways to bring people together, as much as to allow a sense of freedom. “It’s crucial to encourage individual expression without judgment, as unity strengthens society while division weakens it.” The intimate, pensive project Yeboah is showing at Photo London, titled Prophecies, is motivated by this concern, to promote understanding and acceptance, to look at each other with love and empathy. It’s an intimate series of soft, elegant portraits, some moving in close to the body, others taking a wistful look from a distance. Underpinning them all is an idea close to Yeboah’s heart – the notion that it “plays a vital role in fostering societal cohesion.” Art has been a saving grace for the artist. And he hopes his work can now do the same for others.