Unseen Amsterdam

About Johno Mellish

Johno Mellish (b. 1991) constructs his photographic mise-en-scènes by combining history, memory and imagination. Sourcing imagery from both traditional media channels and vernacular photographs, he composes fictional narratives which mirror our post-truth, fragmented, and data-driven society.

As a trained filmmaker and cinematographer, Mellish plays on serialism which shapes and informs his visual language. With a love of storytelling, he subverts the practice, creating unexpected juxtapositions and ideas. His ability to capture his audience – creating characters and locations in transition – give his works a certain mysticism. Represented in collections both locally and abroad, he was selected as a focus artist during AKAA 2019 in Paris, where academic Ashraf Jamal described his work, “Mellish is a visual DJ, a master of the remix. If his images seem novel and ‘unexpected’ it is also because, in his world, everything is up for grabs, everything can be reassigned a ‘new’ or different meaning. This process is not only a matter of shifting perspective, it is also the result of the deterritorialisation (Deleuze and Guattari) and defamiliarisation (Brecht) of the images. In Mellish’s photographs nothing possesses its essence, everything – the images content and reason for being – is, in effect, anti-and-post essential. ”

Mellish is represented in collections around the world, including the Scheryn Collection. His work has been featured in publications including Die Zeit and Metal Magazine. In November 2021 THK Gallery presented a Solo exhibition by Johno Mellish, The Light that Found You, at in the Curiosa Section of Paris Photo. He was one of only 15 projects selected by curator Shoair Mavlian for the section of the fair dedicated to emerging art. In 2023 his work will be presented at Unseen in Amsterdam as a featured photographer.

About Nonzuzo Gxekwa

Untitled VI, 2020

Nonzuzo Gxekwa(b. 1981) is a Johannesburg based photographer. Gxekwa’s approach to photography favours the everyday over the spectacular; sharing intimate moments by focusing the camera on what is around her as well as on herself. Whether photographing in the street or in the studio, her work explores the human condition in subtle and beautiful ways.

Her optic is loving. It’s not simply that she chooses to focus on moments of self love—the way people occupy themselves—but that in the taking, her subjects are never wholly circumscribed. There is always space to manoeuvre. Collaboration is a crucial part of her practice, and she regularly works with photographers and other creatives in Johannesburg and further afield.

Nonzuzo’s work was included in Presence: Five Contemporary African Photographers at the Photographer’s Gallery in London from July – August 2021. In November 2021 Nonzuzo was selected for Self-Addressed, organised by Kehinde Wiley and Jeffrey Deitch in Los Angeles. For this landmark exhibition, Wiley invited a selection of contemporary African artists to produce a self-portrait. Together these portraits presented a new exploration of identity, perception, and self-regard within the global stage.

In 2022 she completed a year long residency at the prestigious Jan van Eyck Academie in Maastricht, and her collaborative work, The Mask Project, was exhibited in Hope from Chaos: Pandemic Reflections at the ArtScience Museum in Singapore.

She is currently on residency at the Künstlerdorf Schöppingen.

About Trevor Stuurman

Tongoro Beauty 2, 2022

Kimberley born, Stuurman, 28, is an award winning contemporary multimedia visual artist, AFDA graduate with a BA(hons) motion picture & live performance who sees the world through his creative lens and finds beauty in that which reminds him of home - a place that is imbued with colour, love and belonging that reflects Africa. Ever since he burst onto the creative scene scooping the Elle style reporter title in 2012, Trevor has easily cemented himself as a creative force to be reckoned with.

A seasoned explorer, he cites travel as his core inspiration. “the more I leave home, the more I realise the power and currency that home has. And I think that in turn makes me a better storyteller because I am able to find pieces of home wherever I go and then create tangible products”. This essence of belonging inspired him to host his first solo exhibition entitled “home”, a love letter to the Himba women of Namibia that enjoyed a successful run at the hazard gallery in Johannesburg. Subsequently, Trevor has exhibited in a group exhibition at Digitalia; the art and economy of ideas in San Francisco at the museum of the African diaspora. Trevor has curated his own installations; “teleporting into Africa” and “this is home” for the Absolut one source live creative festivals and “this is home” at the Motsepe foundation’s Mandela 100 summit.

Trevor has cemented himself as a co-pilot with brands such as mini as brand ambassador, standard bank, Simon and Mary’s fez hats line, eponymous fashion brand Rich Mnisi, Vlisco and Laurence airline. He has collaborated with artists such as Black Coffee, Ciara, Nelson Makamo, African Rhythm, Dear Ribane and the Carters - Beyoncé and Jay-Z. As Marie Claire magazine’s image maker 2018 recipient and GQ style declared “king of creativity”, Trevor has lived up to these titles having been commissioned in the same year by Disney to interpret Marvel’s Black Panther with Manthe Ribane as his muse. His work with global humanitarian foundations includes the United Nations, Gates Foundation and the Auma Obama Foundation to document former American president Barack Obama. Described as “a cultural force” by CNN’s African voices feature, Trevor continues to hone in on his creative eye and centres diverse beauty and fashion. He has captured the likes of Teyana Taylor, Naomi Campbell Shanelle Nyasiase, Gigi & Bella Hadid, Kendall Jenner and Imaan Hammam. As a British Vogue contributor, Trevor’s work at arise and afro punk Johannesburg has made him a sought after photographer able to capture inclusive representations of beauty, culture and fashion expression. It is no wonder he believes that “being African is his superpower.” Stuurman is included in the Brooklyn Museum's Africa Fashion exhibition opening, 6 June 2023.