Spanning eight years of her creative practice, Thandiwe Muriu’s book Camo – short for camouflage – takes the viewer on a colourful, reflective journey through her world as a woman living in modern-day Kenya. As she reinterprets contemporary African portraiture using surreal illusions, Thandiwe presents a bold new vision of the universal woman and her autonomy.
In Camo, Thandiwe’s beautiful dark-skinned women are dressed in colourful Ankara fabrics that match their studio background. Punctuated by expressive hairstyles and everyday objects, the bold images – which are not digitally manipulated – almost make the subject disappear through optical illusion.
Confronting the photographer’s own journey to discover the meaning of beauty and her identity as a woman, Thandiwe designs the outfits based on the stories she sees in the patterns, working with local tailors to create the final product. The images are then printed on paper to look more like paintings than photographs.
Thandiwe, do you think Camo addresses the issues you wanted to raise regarding the role of women in society?
The Camo series is not about African women, it’s about women and a universal struggle women face. One of my biggest surprises as I’ve travelled the world is that I always thought it was a problem I had, or maybe Kenyan or African women have, but this is every woman’s problem. My role as an artist is not to answer questions, but to create a platform for dialogue, and the book has done that. It’s allowed women to talk about their experiences.
How has the Camo project evolved?
My work has changed over the years and you can see that in chronological order in the book as I’ve grown older. Camo is my journey through womanhood. At its core, it’s about women being heard, challenging our perception of ourselves, and then celebrating the sweet moments of being a woman.
I spent 2024 researching textiles and the symbolism behind a specific Kenyan one called Kanga. I’m interested in symbolism and using textile as a language. Over the years I have passively observed textiles, but recently I began experimenting with being an active participant in their creation.
I have also added embroidery to my new works in the shape of a stamp because that freezes a moment in time. The country sees it as valuable enough to preserve for posterity, and yet in my research, I discovered most of the postal systems across Africa were developed in Europe. It’s very powerful that this symbol was not even chosen by us. I wanted to use that symbolism to almost reclaim our value and our internal perspective of self-image. Furthermore, a stamp is a piece of paper that moves messages around the world so I can either see myself as a Kenyan or as an incredible contribution to the global landscape. I want to challenge the dual juxtaposition of self-bias using the stamp.
Which photographers influence and inspire you?
I’ve recently developed a slight obsession with archiving, and there are incredible masters of photography who consistently archived the African way of life – how we saw ourselves and how we wanted to see ourselves – even though it was not our reality. Malick Sidibé built this incredible archive that shows Africans with dignity, power, dreams and ambition. I’m deeply inspired by his lifelong commitment to do that.
I also enjoy contemporary photographers because I think we are in the middle of finding our voices and styles. While I may not be directly influenced by them, I’m deeply inspired by the consistent search for our voice, style, and unique way of expressing ourselves. And Seydou KeÏta is another icon.
How has the participation of female photographers changed in Kenya?
The fact that I exist gives hope. It proves it’s possible. Hopefully, it will lead to a women’s movement in photography. I don’t know if I’ve quite seen the fruits of it yet, but I do feel a lot of hope. I get wonderful messages from men and women who are aspiring to be photographers.
Any advice to young photographers?
If you want to be a photographer, work on crafting your unique style. That takes a lot of experimentation and a lot of failures, but keep doing it because you can be the best at being yourself.
How has photography changed your life?
It’s given me my career. Photography has humbled me completely, reminding me that art or images can go where words cannot speak. My work has seen more countries than me. It’s met more people than me. It has changed more people than me. Photography has changed my dreams, worldview, and has grown my community.
