Hamese, Harness

South African, b. 1986

BiographyIn 2013, Harness Hamese teamed up with Namibian designer Loux the Vintage Guru to create a set of staged photographs featuring vintage clothing enthusiasts who belong to the Johannesburg sartorial collective Khumbula. This ensemble of young creative professionals is dedicated to representing a visual narrative of Africa that differs from typical depictions seen in mainstream media. Their movement is known as Love is African. In Give thanks to thoughtful hands - Bafana Mthembu and Andile Biyana of Khumbula, gestures of courtship and the expression of masculinity and femininity are exaggerated. The power and strength of the photograph’s subject, the South African-born Andile Biyana, lies in her poised gaze, which she wields as she is affectionately kissed by her counterpart.

Harness Hamese is a self-taught photographer and art director based in Johannesburg, South Africa. His work has been exhibited internationally and has also been reproduced in art and fashion magazines worldwide. This photograph is featured in the traveling exhibition Dandy Lion: (Re)Articulating Black Masculine Identity on view at the Museum of Contemporary Photography in 2015.