My name is Saul Jan Samba I grew up and reside in North London having lived there my
whole life, my experience here has allowed me to understand that there is a stigma
surrounding British black boys and how they can often be perceived so that act as a driving
force for some of my pieces - to show that they are just like the rest of us and they do not
have the violent tendencies they are seen to have. Having an Afro-European mix of
Gambian and Polish has allowed me to have a mix of perspectives in my life, visiting both
countries and experiencing their cultures equally has allowed me to learn more about myself
and my background in recent years. My increased knowledge of my culture is a critical bit of
inspiration for my work and always will. One thing that will inspire are people, unique
individuals I can highlight and put into my work through their expressions and identity has
always been something prevalent in what I do adding character to the photo and emotion to
the person being shot is what taking photos is all about for me, what can the viewer take
from this and from their own opinions on the person and their life. My approach to my work
has allowed for my work today to be as genuine as possible and highlights my culture
throughout often using earthy tones in my work and glorifying people of color in the UK and
their fashion sense, hairstyles, and identity to those on my Instagram page having recently
got into fashion photography I want to see how I can use my skills from street photography
and apply it into a studio setting how can I still achieve that genuine and unique look that I
believe my work holds.
