Geoffery Matautia
The front property portraits capture a one of a kind and inspiring sub-lifestyle of style.
This story is element of the Things Competition of Vogue, introduced by Samsung. See far more from the competition right here.
The best vogue imagery tends to capture a second in time, a showcase of how we dressed, then. Regardless of whether it’s Kim Kardashian on the deal with of Vogue, a reflection of our movie star obsessed and curated image-as-brand culture, a lockdown style shoot that includes a design captured above Zoom, or typical street fashion, these illustrations or photos can act as a kind of type time capsule.
Occasionally, the most simple technique can be the most reflective. Geoffery Matautia’s front property sequence was a picture essay that began in lockdown past calendar year, with the Manurewa-based photographer having putting portraits of his South Auckland buddies in front of their homes – standing solid in slogan tees, Layplan hoodies, yellow Crocs and puletasi.
To me, these easy and personal images say so significantly additional about how youth are dressing and “NZ fashion” than most trend editorial/magazine shoots that I’m observing manufactured correct now a display screen of real design and style from a group that is and has usually had a major function in shaping Aotearoa’s imaginative and style industries.
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Matautia, who is also known to his local community on Instagram and TikTok as @southsides, started having the portraits in Oct 2020, out of boredom throughout lockdown – heading out to securely photograph portraits of his buddies, and inquiring them what they ended up searching forward to for summertime.
The reaction to the shots was immediate and beneficial, so he resolved to switch it into a series.
“I think men and women resonated with it for the reason that the concept and execution of it was so very simple and lighthearted,” Matautia explains. “It was authentic in the way the pictures looked and the system of how they have been taken, how they ‘posed’ and even the wording of the captions that went together with them.
“A massive point I required to maintain absent from was the negative factors of lockdown, since other individuals were now talking about that.”
It is major that Matautia concentrated his lens on his South Auckland group – just one that has been massively impacted by the numerous Covid outbreaks, and has been the target of substantially on the web loathe.
As a substitute, these portraits celebrate and uplift. And sure: at its most primary and frivolous level, showcase some extremely neat vogue.
Matautia admits that he didn’t assume about the fashion part of his illustrations or photos, as the instruction of what to wear was so simple – “to use whichever they felt at ease in” – and so the garments and surroundings had been secondary to the matter.
But hunting again, he can see some recurring things and themes: like outsized garments, and “rocking and supporting neighborhood brand names paired with the traditional socks and slides”.
“I just assume the South Auckland design and style is at ease,” he suggests. “Everyone’s generally on a mission, irrespective of whether it is really running errands for your loved ones or heading to get a feed with your mates.”
Relatively than how his pics may well mirror a specific subculture of NZ type, Matautia is far more fascinated in commenting on the “effortlessly cool” design and style of the younger creatives in the several artwork collectives that are popping up in Tāmaki Makaurau.
“You kinda envy their assurance especially functioning typically with Pacific youth who are typically the artsy black sheep of their households,” he states. “It’s cool to see them check out and categorical their creativeness by means of what they produce but also what they dress in.”
He has an up close and individual point of view on much of this: along with his flourishing photography profession, Matautia works as a job coordinator in the Workplace of Pacific Improvement at the Auckland College of Technological know-how (he shares tons of entertaining insight on his TikTok).
He’s also portion of the buzzy art collective known as Raroboys, a group of 10 Pasifika creatives and mates who are element of Tāmaki Makaurau’s thrilling youthful arts scene. They lately opened an exhibition at the Māngere Arts Centre (open till March 27), with some of Matautia’s front lawn shots proudly on exhibit along with other illustrative, painting, graphic structure and photographic function.
Like Matautia’s operate and innovative method the show, titled ‘Raroboys & Friends’, is a true collaborative affair with Raroboys bringing in other young artistic collectives to showcase their work – some as young as 16 and even now researching in university.