Phumelele Kunene is a visual artist, photographer, and creative director. With over a decade of experience in photography and visual
storytelling, her practice sits at the intersection of art, culture, and narrative, shaped by a background in film, television, and digital media.
She works primarily with analogue photographic processes to explore African ritual, memory, and material culture. Using the wet plate
collodion process, a 19th-century technique — Kunene produces one-of-a-kind images on glass. Each work is made entirely by hand,
requiring precision, timing, and presence, resulting in unique photographic objects that cannot be replicated. The process itself is slow and
intentional, echoing the rhythms and structures of ritual.
She is also the founder and Executive Creative Director of Still Imagery, a multidisciplinary creative studio through which she has
developed campaigns, visual identities, and content strategies for a range of clients. Alongside her commercial work, Kunene has built an
independent artistic practice that focuses on long-term cultural research and image-making.
Her work has been exhibited through independent platforms, including a project exhibition with INCCA, where she presented In My
Element, a body of work exploring selfhood and creative identity. She continues to expand her presence within the contemporary art space,
developing new bodies of work that engage with African narratives and visual language.
Kunene is currently focused on growing her analogue photography practice and establishing a darkroom-based creative hub in
Johannesburg, aimed at supporting both artistic production and youth development. Her work reflects a broader vision of building
sustainable creative ecosystems while contributing to the evolution of contemporary African visual culture
storytelling, her practice sits at the intersection of art, culture, and narrative, shaped by a background in film, television, and digital media.
She works primarily with analogue photographic processes to explore African ritual, memory, and material culture. Using the wet plate
collodion process, a 19th-century technique — Kunene produces one-of-a-kind images on glass. Each work is made entirely by hand,
requiring precision, timing, and presence, resulting in unique photographic objects that cannot be replicated. The process itself is slow and
intentional, echoing the rhythms and structures of ritual.
She is also the founder and Executive Creative Director of Still Imagery, a multidisciplinary creative studio through which she has
developed campaigns, visual identities, and content strategies for a range of clients. Alongside her commercial work, Kunene has built an
independent artistic practice that focuses on long-term cultural research and image-making.
Her work has been exhibited through independent platforms, including a project exhibition with INCCA, where she presented In My
Element, a body of work exploring selfhood and creative identity. She continues to expand her presence within the contemporary art space,
developing new bodies of work that engage with African narratives and visual language.
Kunene is currently focused on growing her analogue photography practice and establishing a darkroom-based creative hub in
Johannesburg, aimed at supporting both artistic production and youth development. Her work reflects a broader vision of building
sustainable creative ecosystems while contributing to the evolution of contemporary African visual culture
