Marvel commissions Kenyan photographer for exclusive Black Panther art

omotolani

February 19, 2018 12:41 PM

Black Panther is the rave this month as fans across the world have been flocking to screenings to watch the latest Marvel superhero movie.

And for award-winning Kenyan photographer Osborne Macharia, it couldn’t have come at a better time. Before the movie’s launch in cinemas in London last week, the photographer was commissioned by Marvel to create an “exclusive art piece” and given the creative license to experiment.

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In a Facebook post, Macharia said the project was for him, “A proud moment to be part of the most important Afrofuturistic movie in my generation.”

Macharia created a project titled Ilgelunot, which translates to “The Chosen Ones” in the Maasai language. Each piece tells the story of three elders of Maasai origin who were Black Panther’s most trusted advisors played in the movie by Chadwick Boseman.

The elders were saved during World War II by the old king of Wakanda T’Chaka after they strayed across North Africa in search of refuge. And even though exposure to the fictional metal Vibranium had made them blind, the woman and two men gained supernatural abilities and acumen. Macharia also created a custom typography inspired by geometric tribal patterns for the photo project.

Macharia is well known for his composite photographs, in which he employs elements of history, science fiction, and digital photo editing to comment on historical narratives and social issues.

In the past, he has produced photos of the Kipipiri women, four brave warriors who undermined and help end British rule in Kenya. Other projects have also focused on persons with albinism, discrimination against street children and the elderly, and he also introduced a whole new cast of hip-hop grandfathers, extravagant grannies, and freedom-fighting opticians into the Kenyan art scene.

omotolani