OSBORNE MACHARIA : THE EYE (Kenya, Photographer)
‘The Eye has the power to immortalize life’s most meaningful and important moments – suspending them in a blue fire and into eternity.’
Osborne Macharia is a self-taught photographer, born, bred and based in Kenya with a unique ability to bring elaborate stories to life with his rich visual language. His style of photography which falls within the genre Afrofuturism which highlight three key principles being identity, culture and fiction.
Macharia’s work animates his characters that seem to jump out of the frame with something to say. His narrative style of photography makes for a powerful platform to convey important messages on topics from ivory poaching to African conflict-ridden regions, gender abuse, dwarfism, albinism and care for the elderly.
As a commercial photographer, Macharia has been privileged to work with top local and international brands including Super Heroic, Coke, Absolut Vodka, MTV Base, Volkswagen, Samsung, Danone, Nestlé, Cadbury, Forbes, Pepsi, Guinness, Mercedes, and Kenya Airways - as well as working with international agencies in London, South Africa, Cyprus, and the US.
In 2018 Macharia was selected to be a Jury at the prestigious ADC Awards (the first Kenyan recipient) and was also part of a team that won Kenya’s first ever Cannes Lion in 2015, a One Show finalist, and a feature in Lúrzers Archive as one of the 200 best digital artists worldwide 2015/16 and 2017/18. He was a finalist in Hasselblad Master’s 2016 competition too. And he was also featured in respected publications and news channels such as Communication Arts, Vogue, Marie Claire, CNN, BBC, Huffington Post, Adobe Create, Design Indaba, Okay Africa, Afro-Punk, Elle Magazine, Fubiz, Abduzeedo, African Digital Arts, and Behance curated galleries. Macharia’s work has also been exhibited globally in London, Dubai, Amsterdam, Milan, Rome, Austria, Bahrain, Lagos, Bamako, Joburg, and Rio. In 2017, Macharia was also selected to be a speaker at the annual prestigious Design Indaba Conference. He also runs an outdoor lighting workshop series called LightFreaks that aims to develop a new breed of professional photographers with a keen eye for lighting and an emphasis on creating their own unique styles.
