Digangeni

Africa is known for its bold, unapologetic use of colour. Stories are told in pigments, tones and hues; a kaleidoscope as diverse as the cultures and peoples of the continent. For the initiative Colours of Africa, a collaborative project with Google Arts & Culture, we asked 60 African creatives to capture the unique spirit of their country in a colour which represents home to them.

The projects they have created are personal and distinct stories of Africa, put into images, videos, texts and illustrations. Each artist has also attempted to articulate what being African means to their identity and view of the world.

Colour:Emerald
Country:Gabon

Artwork rationale:

Green; the first colour on Gabon’s flag and the colour that blankets its land. Our West African country is one of the most lush and forested in the world, lying in the equator’s green belt.
Living green that sits upon a strip of yellow earth, fed by the blue flowing water. That’s what our flag represents.

I used the colour green to represent my home country of Gabon because of the prevalence of forests as well as its cultural and economic importance.
For the Colours of Africa project, it was evident to me that the colour I would want to highlight would be green, because of the strong ties between Gabonese people and nature. Because I am not currently in Gabon, I wanted to figure out a way to accurately represent the beautiful colours of my home country. I collaborated for this project with Marine Nina, a Gabonese model I actually went to high school with back in Libreville. It was important to work with a Gabonese model to accurately depict the beauty of Gabonese people through the work.

With this image, I wanted to pay homage to my grandmother and all of the Gabonese women before her who were interacting and communing with that nature on a daily basis from birth. My family's village is in a province in Gabon located on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean and surrounded by numerous lakes and rivers.

To reinforce the presence of the colour on the image, I made sure the model wore a green dress and headwrap, not only to blend with the surroundings but also to have a subject who has the blend of modernity and traditionalism that is at the core of the Gabonese woman’s style.

What it means to be African

To be African today is to have a very particular position in a world in which your culture and your identity is undermined, undervalued and considered to be unimportant. Being African is knowing that, despite the world's misconceptions, you have a deep understanding of your story, your heritage, the wealth of your culture and the strength and pride of your ancestors.

Biography

Yannis Davy Guibinga is a 25-year-old photographer from Libreville, Gabon who is currently based in Montréal, Canada. In order to contribute to a change in the narrative about the continent, Guibinga has found in photography a useful tool that allows him to celebrate and document the many cultures and identities on the African continent and its diaspora.
Guibuinga has worked with clients such as Apple and Nikon, and has exhibited works internationally in Switzerland, South Africa, Nigeria, France, Russia, United States, Switzerland and more, as well as featured on platforms such as CNN Africa, Document Journal, I-D, Harper’s Bazaar Russia and Condé Nast Traveler.