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Gabriel Moses is a London based, self-taught photographer and filmmaker. Moses has collaborated with an extensive list of brands and designers, including the likes of Nike, Adidas, Burberry, Virgil Abloh and Pharrell. When He began his career in photography, identity and community were, and continue to be major influences on his aesthetic, that of which draws on both his South London upbringing and Nigerian heritage. Moses unveiled his debut exhibition “Regina” on the 5th of April 2023, which was displayed at 180 studios.

Biography

At a young age, Moses had little interest in photography or art in general. In an interview with The Face, Moses said “My mum would run the Sunday school arts and crafts workshops and my sister used to study fashion. Growing up, I’d go into her room and see ripped-out pages of magazines for her research”. Despite previously having no interest in such things, Moses stated that by the time he picked up a camera in his late teens, he had “Subconsciously developed a taste for good imagery.”

Gabriel Moses was just 18 when, after posting a film he had made on YouTube showing him and his friends playing football, he was approached by a Nike representative and invited to a meeting. After building a good relationship, Nike offered Moses an editorial role in an upcoming project. Moses said in an interview with Creative Lives in Progress “I completely winged it and ended up creating something half-decent.” Shortly after working with Nike, Moses was approached by Adidas. They had seen his Nike film and offered to collaborate with him on a project surrounding Manchester United FC. Moses had been a lifelong fan of the famous football club, and therefore accepted the opportunity despite still having little experience in the industry. Moses claims that he was able to work with such a large brand at such an early point in his career due to his self-confidence and ability to learn on the job.

Exhibitions

Regina was Gabriel Moses’ debut exhibition and featured around fifty images from his career, as well as two short films. Moses describes the name Regina- which is Latin for Queen- as a salute to the women in his life. He wanted the exhibition to feel familiar, beautiful and yet slightly haunting. As he follows a group of ballet Dancers in Lagos, Nigeria- in his short film ‘Heavy Crowns’- we are taken through a series of “vignettes that explore themes of art, family and culture”, themes that are frequently explored in Moses’ work. Alongside the films are a collection of images that show what Vogue Italia described as “emotionally charged, reflective moods dating back to the ideal of beauty of West African artists.”

Regina also includes a statue of Moses’ childhood friend “Tamsir” which he explained to be a reminder to himself to take where he is from, and “never let go of that”.

Design philosophy

Moses stated in his interview with Creative Lives in Progress that Gordon Parks had a huge influence on his work. Moses went on to describe his love for Parks‘ approach to photography, stating that ”he was good at humanizing his subjects. Whether it was someone as prominent as Muhammad Ali or just a stranger on the street, each one was special.“ This reflects Moses’ own work which he says focusses on showing people “familiar details of our world but through my eyes.” Moses also claims inspiration from his surroundings, he says that ”tapping into my community can trigger a lot of inspiration.”