Flynn Matthews 
Self-taught Gabonese photographer Yannis Davy Guibinga is well known for portraits which highlight the diversity of cultures and identities from the African diaspora. His functions are often richly hued, with topics placed against bright gradient backgrounds or adorned in warm tones.
In his project The Darkest Colour nevertheless, Guibinga moves from his multi-colored photo shoots to focus entirely on the color black and its connection to darkness, mourning, and death. The series is placed in front of a black background and contains two nude models whose skin has also been painted black. The works seek to match the negative aspects of both the color and its symbolism.
“Black is normally the color associated with catastrophe, death, and mourning, and the action of passing is considered to be a tragedy in many cultures,” Guibinga informs Colossal. “The Darkest Colour’ attempts to redefine affiliation of black and death with tragedy and sadness by representing the act of passing as much more of a relaxing experience.”
The 22-year-old photographer is presently a student in professional photography in Marsan College in Montreal. You can see more of his movies, like his series 2050 which investigates the future of Style from a black woman’s perspective, on his site and Instagram.
