#VogueChallenge is not an art challenge but a trend to uplift and amplify black creatives voices’ in response to Anna Wintour’s “hasn’t found enough ways to elevate and give space to black creators” statement despite being Vogue US editor in chief for three decades. People are taking on the #VogueChallenge to clap back at Vogue’s racism and lack of diversity.
#VogueChallenge is not an art challenge but a trend to uplift and amplify black creatives voices’ in response to Anna Wintour’s “hasn’t found enough ways to elevate and give space to black creators” statement despite being Vogue US editor in chief for three decades.
These are visuals from Tuva Wolf, the photography alias of news editor Merja Iileka, is a Namibian creative specializing in visuals and creative direction. After completing her multi-media studies that included photography as a subject in Cape Town, South Africa, Tuva Wolf returned to her motherland where she honed her photography skills for over a decade in the newsroom while compiling stories from mainly the populous Northern Namibia that is known for its rich culture. This affinity for storytelling not only using words, but photographs, eventually bore the fruit that is TW Studio in 2017.
TW Studio is focused on conceptual fashion photography, a style that is largely untapped in Namibia. Through the relatively young studio, Tuva Wolf’s visuals have landed on the walls of local art galleries, billboards, online magazines and newspaper covers.
As a biracial woman born in exile to a black African mother and a white European father, Tuva Wolf has always been interested in topics of identity, race and feminism and exploring how these subjects can be used to tell stories through fashion photography. This is a theme that continues to be a site of inspiration while Tuva Wolf explores her own place and identity in the world. Her primary mission is to empower other creatives and to use visual platforms to start dialogue. “The idea is to get to the centre of who we are as a people and to discover ways of celebrating our existence as Africans.”
In 2019, Tuva Wolf started work on a deeply personal and long term project called Shades Of Industry that is a collaboration with other creatives, including African models, designers, stylists and makeup artists. The project centres blackness and is aimed at defining, as well as redefining, beauty standards in art form.
In 2019, Tuva Wolf was named Photographer of the Year at the Katutura Fashion Week (KFW) Awards and was in 2018 awarded Favourite Photographer at the Simply You Magazine Lifestyle and Fashion (SYMLAFA) Awards. You can check our Tuva’s wore HERE
I’m late to the party, but as promised, #VogueChallenge pic.twitter.com/iAfJ4rCQ6z
— TW Studio (@tuvawolf) June 11, 2020
1st & 2nd frame: model Chelsi Shikongo (@ChelsiShikongo)
3rd & 4th frame: model Mhudi Simana (@MhudiS)
Makeup artist: Renate Shikongo (@ShikongoRenate)
Stylist: Jeffrey Hiuii (@jeffreyhiuii on IG)
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBSiKEoAXpy/
