Seyon Amosu and Iliana Kanellopoulou capture African Sunday nostalgia in 'Chuku Chuku'
As a first generation immigrant, photographer Iliana Kanellopoulou wanted to document diaspora realities and explore what it means to be at home away from home. "As an immigrant in the UK, I want to showcase the cultures and lives of the people I have close to me - people that support and share my ambitions for a fairer world," she tells us. To truly capture the essence of the Sunday experience, 'Chuck Chuku' was shot close to Iliana's home in Dalston. "We took some of the pictures in Ridley Road Market. I visit the market almost every day for groceries and it's one of my favourite spots in my area."
The location of the shoot was crucial to portray an authentic, though stylised, story of the character. As Seyon tells us, 'Chuku Chuku' is created to show the model "like she was getting ready for a journey to church on a special Sunday". The hair and make-up were also symbolism of this. Seyon used using plastic/dry fruit to further beautify the traditional hair style and as colour inspiration for the makeup. "There is a juxtaposition in the appearance of the Omo valley tribe and my childhood Sunday best dressed, but they share the same values of pride and dignity.
