Black Shade Projects x Ozwald Boateng presents: Crossroads by Youssouf Sogodogo

About

Black Shade Projects is a new arts platform and pop-up exhibition programme, focussed on profiling photography and photo-based work from across Africa and the diaspora. Founded by art advisor and African contemporary art specialist Myriem Baadi in 2019, Black Shade Projects is dedicated to championing previously silenced and overlooked African artists, as well as supporting emerging talent.

Exhibiting for the first time in 10 years, Sogodogo presents a significant body of ongoing work titled Hairstyles of Mali (Les Tresses du Mali). Begun in Mali in the 1980s, the series explores the culture and storytelling of hair braiding. Preserving the craft through his photographs, Sogodogo highlights the importance of this shared culture, both within and beyond the African continent.

British-Ghanaian designer Ozwald Boateng has had a transformational impact on menswear for almost three decades, with a design aesthetic rooted in Savile Row tradition but defined by international style, detail, and artistry. On show with Black Shade Projects is a curated selection from Boateng’s famed Africanism collection. Fusing woven heritages with contemporary design, the line seeks to similarly offer new visions for African culture, empowered by ancestral narratives. Described as ‘a casted net that reaches far beyond fashion’ the Africanism collection is here re-envisioned alongside Sogodogo’s photography, presenting a cross-disciplinary exploration of beauty, fashion and culture from across Africa, and beyond.