From the early use of charcoal and soil 40,000 years ago to the vivid digital compositions of contemporary photographers, humanity has always used colour to express emotional and cultural depth. Colour is far more than a decorative element; it is a primary language of storytelling. This selection explores the work of contemporary photographers previously featured in print editions of Aesthetica Magazine who place bold palettes at the heart of their work. From the energetic “Hueism” of Derrick Ofosu Boateng to the surreal landscapes of Sanja Marušic, these artists harness light and contrast to reshape our visual world. The work featured here is inspired by cultural and physical spaces by photographers that are redefining portraiture.
Sarfo Emmanuel Annor
Sarfo Emmanuel Annor (b. 2002) is fascinated by colour. Based in Koforidua, Ghana, the photographer launched his career on iPhone by making portraits of family and friends. At the time, the goal was to express the dreams and stories of other young people living in his home city. Now, Annor shoots editorial for UNIF and is listed amongst i-D magazine’s “hottest creatives.” He remains drawn to the subject of African youth and its “power to shape the continent’s future,” crafting images bursting with potential. Everyday moments are heightened by glowing backgrounds, rendered in magenta, majorelle blue, orange and scarlet. Objects are brought into focus, with vases balancing on heads and leaves obscuring faces.
Sanja Marušić
Sanja Marušić (b.1991) is a Dutch-Croatian artist, based in Amsterdam, who builds otherworldly images in which collage, painting and photography collide. The artist travels extensively, capturing performances where figures – often Marušić alone in costume, sometimes accompanied by others – move through surreal landscapes. Mirrored cubes, triangle headdresses and glittery bodysuits create a space-age look and feel. Subjects navigate pink and turquoise flower fields, as if traversing the surface of a new planet, or leap through giant yellow squares, revelling in freedom and play – like completing a video game level. Some of Marušić’s stories are autobiographical, whilst others evade explanation. Folk and naïve art are wellsprings of inspiration here, influencing composition and palette.
sanjamarusic.com | @sanjamarusic
Derrick Ofosu Boateng
“Without effort no harvest will be abundant.” It’s a fundamental message, and one of many African proverbs at the heart of Derrick Ofosu Boateng’s (b. 1998) practice. Traditionally, these sayings were shared orally and seldom written down; this led to a lack of wider documentation. The Ghanaian photographer’s energetic pictures close the gap. Shot on iPhone, they interpret each maxim by bursting with colour and joy. Boateng calls this approach Hueism: “self-expression through colour therapy and visual poetry.” Figures hold balloons or flowers, making shapes in tandem against blue, red and yellow blocks. Each teaches a lesson, from humility and modesty to patience. “Launching an art movement is a powerful way to share your message, and, in my case, to address the misinterpretation of Africa.”
Yannis Davy Guibinga
Yannis Davy Guibinga (b. 1995) is passionate about storytelling. The photographer, originally from Libreville, Gabon, now based in Montréal, Canada, creates visual histories centred around Africa and its diaspora. Whispers in the Twilight (2024), takes cues from classical painting to tell the tale of a developing relationship – adversaries to friends – set against a backdrop of deep blue and vivid orange skies. In Moonsilver (2024), Guibinga follows two mermaids who emerge on the shores of a secluded village in west Africa, whilst other portraits depict figures who reach for the moon or stand hand-in-hand against the setting sun. Most recently, the artist has been experimenting with surreal collage techniques in images that resemble heat maps. In these, feathers and butterfly wings merge with the human body.
Sarah Doyle
In 1923, Wassily Kandinsky handed out a questionnaire to his Bauhaus students. Their task: match the three primary colours with basic shapes. The responses fed into the art- ist’s wider investigations into colour-form theory, which linked yellow to triangles, red to squares and blue to circles. Today, contemporary photographers, including Dublin-based Sarah Doyle, are continuing to play with the relationships between geometry and palettes. Multi-toned spheres are suspended against stark black backdrops, models hold scarlet rings aloft, whilst various shades of thick paint spill out across portraits. Doyle’s work, which is defined by its bright aesthetic, has been featured by Hunger, The Observer, Tatler, Time, Vogue and others. Her clients include Max Factor, Sony, Universal & Urban Outfitters.
sarahdoylephotography.com | @sarahdoylephotographer
Subscribe to Aesthetica & Save 70% in August | 12 Months for £12 | Click Here to Shop All Issues.
Words: Sophie Bullivant
Image Credits:
1. Yannis Davy Guibinga, Daybreak at Crystal Mountain (2023). Featuring and Make-up: Béatrice (Bily) Rose Fatier.
2. Sarfo Emmanuel Annor, The Unseen II (2022).
3. Sarfo Emmanuel Annor, Untitled (2023).
4. Sanja Marušić, Friends or Enemies, (2018). Image courtesy of the artist.
5. Derrick Ofosu Boateng, You Are One in a Melon, (2020).
6. Derrick Ofosu Boateng, Different Flowers, (2020).
7. Yannis Davy Guibinga, Daughter of the Lake (2023). Featuring: Jenna Abeke. Make-up: Aissatou “Miss Makeup Holikk” Mansaly.
8. Sarah Doyle, In Red from the series Getting Warmer. Model: Claire Gunn @ Not Another Agency. Hair and Make-up by Leonard Daly @ Not Another Agency.
9. Sarah Doyle, Black, White and Yellow. Image courtesy the artist.
