John Baloyi
Baloyi’s work as a photographer began in 2017 when he left his secular employment as an Automotive Electrician. He began by assisting a variety of photographers in order to familiarise himself with the industry. This led to his shooting commercial work for various brands and campaigns, although he struggled to fit in the commercial scene due to the fact that his work was always considered “too artsy”.
After much introspection he made the conscious decision to be more intentional with his work and began shooting fine art photography. Being African, he wanted to document the unique experience of black people, portraying them as works of art.
The prominent themes of his work are colourism within the black community, love and social identity as well as symbolic themes from an African perspective. The main goal or purpose of his work is to inspire an alternative perspective of people of colour as a whole and to present them as works of art .
Photography experience
- 2019 Mobile Media Lab. Creative Direction for PUMA Capsule AW19.
- 2018 Mobile Media Lab. Editing for AFROPUNK, Johannesburg.
ID Collective. Photography for Standard Bank, “My ULTRA Next” Campaign.
Hello Conversations. Photography for Bisquit “Where Two Worlds Meet” Campaign.
Levi’s SA Footwear. Photography for SS18 Campaign. - 2017 Ndalo Media. Photography and Creative Direction for Destiny Magazine, July 2017, Issue: ‘Ha
Evolution’ Spread
Publicity
- 2019 HL Next Level 2019: Photographer John Baloyi . House and Leisure, 28 June 2019
https://www.houseandleisure.co.za/node/42953/HL%20Next%20Level%202019:%20Photographer%20John%20BaloyiHL Next Level 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TqcmGdmw44
John Baloyi’s imagery speaks to the beauty of life. Bubblegumclub. March 2019
https://bubblegumclub.co.za/photography/john-baloyis-imagery-speaks-to- the-beauty-of-life/ - 2018 Proudly South African: A Photo series exploring Identity. Between 10and5. 6 September 2018
https://10and5.com/2018/09/06/proudly-south-african-photo-series- exploring-identity/
