Tamary Kudita the winner of the 2021 Sony Open Photographer of the Year Award was recently honoured with her first international magazine cover and cover story courtesy of The Royal Photography Society Journal based in the UK. The cover image was for her work titled "African Victorian II" which is a reimagining of how African women would've looked during historical times.
I thought about the image of the black female in western art and what it would mean to place an African woman in the realm of mainstream art history. I essentially saw this as a moment to reframe history and respond to looking at relations that would render us invisible. Therefore, finding a newly formed way of representing black women that would amplify their experiences instead of erasing them. I wanted to show viewers that history can be narrated in many different ways and encourage them to question what they are unsure of in a world filled with political truths. Personally, history informs my understanding of the world, both past and present. Having a strong understanding of what has happened in our history helps us to have an informed understanding of what is currently happening.
Having my image as the cover story was an absolute honour because it highlighted stories which would otherwise go unseen.
Getting to this point in my career has been an evolutionary process and I have learned so much from listening to the stories of others. This magazine cover serves as a testament to Africa's no longer being a ghostwriter.
The Royal Photographic Society Journal is the oldest continuously published photographic periodical in the world. The RPS Journal has covered the artistic and technical developments within photography, it has recorded many of the key personalities and events and, of course, it has reported on Society activities.
Tamary Kudita is a fine arts photographer who tells multilayered stories through her lens. She was the winner of the 2021 Open Photographer of the Year Award and in 2021 Tropics Magazine named her among the 500 most influential Africans.