Jana Hamman
South Africa
Ugly Bruv 3, 2019
Photographic print
59.4x84cm
Edition of 10
Hamman is known for an abstract vocabulary. However, she adopted photography especially to capture the subject depicted in this image as it felt a more apt medium to capture him and his identity and the sense of self-acceptance he has established in claiming to be ‘ugly’ – this is a moniker he adopts with regards to himself and his hair style accentuated with tattoos, which are employed to embrace being viewed as ‘unattractive’.
“Ugly Bruv is the moniker of my friend and muse Zander Opperman. He has been the subject of most of my photographic work because to me he is one of those rare individuals that live authentically, that embrace their flaws and in a society obsessed with conventional themes of beauty, challenges this notion by celebrating the outcast and the non-conformist. He has 'Stay Ugly' tattooed on his eyelids...,” explains Hamman.
“Ugly Bruv is the moniker of my friend and muse Zander Opperman. He has been the subject of most of my photographic work because to me he is one of those rare individuals that live authentically, that embrace their flaws and in a society obsessed with conventional themes of beauty, challenges this notion by celebrating the outcast and the non-conformist. He has 'Stay Ugly' tattooed on his eyelids...,” explains Hamman.