‘#Selfie’ with Amakali

In this era, it has become almost impossible for a day to pass without most young people taking a selfie or two. Social media has encouraged the trend which sees individuals from all walks of life pout their way through a series of photos before sharing them with friends, family and followers.

Equally entranced with this modern fascination with the self, photographer Lukas Amakali’s new solo double exposure exhibition is titled ‘#Selfie’.

‘#Selfie’ features a photography technique favoured by Amakali in which two or more images overlap. The exhibition officially opened at the National Art Gallery of Namibia in Windhoek on 10 October and will be on display until 9 November.

“Selfies have become a reflection of one’s self-identity, which allows a person to be accepted and approved in society. One would want to share their selfies with the whole world. The world is shaped by social media and it is all at the click of a fingertip. Therefore, one must make the time to take a selfie,” he says.

He started taking double exposure selfies with his Nikon D7000 digital camera, which has a special function that allows multiple exposure of two to three images.

“I started to take double exposure selfies with different backgrounds – objects, trees and animals and other people. This is what I want to showcase in my 11th exhibition.”

Amakali says it took him about a year to finalise the exhibition in which the artwork titled ‘Blind Man Can’t Smile’ stands out. In it, Amakali smiles while wearing sunglasses.

“People love the message. This piece has the potential to motivate instantly. I want to encourage people to smile. A blind man may not see himself smiling, but people must never ever be frightened to smile,” he says.

The photograph ‘Among The Knowledge’ features Amakali and stacked bookshelves. He hopes this piece will inspire people to always be willing to learn.

“I decided to showcase books because of the famous statement that I often heard while growing up: ‘If you want to hide something from a black man, put it in a book and he will never find it. Black men don’t read books’. I want to motivate the public on the importance of books,” he says.

There are two photographs showcasing musical instruments, one titled ‘My Drums’ and the other ‘My Saxophone’. Amakali says his motivation for featuring these was to inspire people to always follow their dreams.

“Growing up, I always wanted to do music, but things did not work out for me. I decided to pick visual arts and photography instead,” he says.

On his plans for the future, Amakali says he is hard at work finalising his home studio. This will be a place where he can work from, sell his work, make photographic prints and teach.

He also has plans to host photography workshops, because he wants to share his skill and knowledge with others.

“This is an industry that can make you money. I want to highlight this. If you are willing to work hard, you can have a customer each day. Many people love photographs and there is always a beautiful moment to capture.”

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