Koto Bolofo

Since the early 1980s, Koto’s creative voice, which imbues his work with energy and a sense of timelessness, has taken many forms. Primarily known for his fashion photography, he injected joy into magazine spreads at a time when models were told to look moody – instead, he made them smile. He has worked as a photojournalist and an award-winning filmmaker, and has published close to twenty books and numerous artistic projects.

While Koto always has a concept for a shoot, he works intuitively with light, movement and composition. The sculptural quality and love of movement in Koto’s compositions come from his early training as a competitive gymnast. His deep-rooted instinct for choreography is evident in the subtle language of rhythmic curves and repetition across the work. When he photographs a subject, he himself enters the dance, channelling his entire spiritual energy to get the perfect photograph.

Koto was born in Lesotho, South Africa in 1959. In 1963, his family fled to London, where they lived as political refugees for 25 years. Self-taught and for many years working without assistants, Koto’s remarkable resilience, determination and belief in his creativity enabled him to break through in the fashion industry, at a time when many doors were closed to him.

Koto’s work was first published in 1982 in New Sounds New Styles, and his career took off in 1985 when he was commissioned by Yohji Yamamoto. Over the next few years, two key figures catalyzed the evolution of his unique voice by encouraging him to do things his way. He started working for Franca Sozzani, the chief editor of the influential Lei Magazine (part of Italian Condé Nast). Sozzani had a unique approach, giving photographers unprecedented freedom. She told Koto, “Do what you want, say what you want…I trust you.” In 1988, Koto was approached by Richard Avedon, who recognized his talent and introduced him to Condé Nast editor Alexander Liberman, which led to his iconic cover shoot of Madonna for Interview.

Aside from his prestigious magazine and advertising work, Koto has consistently been drawn to create independent personal work. His poetic series AIR was exhibited at the prominent French publishing house, Contrejour, Paris in 1998, where he collaborated closely with its founder Claude Nori. In 1994, he returned to South Africa with his father and documented their experience in the film ‘The Land is White, the Seed is Black,’ which was awarded the Prix de Image de la Culture, France & Inverso Sud Aversa Film Festival, Italy.

Koto’s passion for bookmaking, allowing him to draw on his personal experience to tell stories that go beyond individual images, all derive from analog prints. During his second year at art school in London, he discovered the dark room, instantly falling in love with the magic of color and black & white printing. This hands-on process quickly became his artistic outlet – he even adopted the nickname “Koto-chrome!”