Gavin Goodman

Pleating Paper into

Sculptural Headwear

South African photographer Gavin Goodman had a vision to create a series influenced by traditional African headwear done with a modern and simplistic touch. Commissioning a local origami artist as a unique way to bring this vision to life, they transformed delicate paper into beautiful African-inspired sculptural objects. 

LUHLAZA

Gavin’s series titled LUHLAZA translates to the word “green” in Xhosa, the main African language spoken in Cape Town. With a simplistic approach in mind, the choice for a minimal colour palette was twofold – “Firstly, from an aesthetic point of view, I've always loved how beautifully this color compliments darker skin tones. And green has a calming, tranquil effect with strong associations towards nature which felt like an appropriate connection towards the imagery of African tribes I was originally inspired by,” says Gavin.

ORIGAMI PROPS

After stumbling upon unique origami art online, Gavin was inspired to execute his series with this delicate, malleable paper. “With a few designs drawn out and a detailed moodboard provided, we commissioned a local origami artist to create these gorgeous props for our shoot. Each prop was made by pleating a single piece of paper,” he explains.

SOFT LIGHTING

Keeping his lighting soft but still directional, Gavin created a key light overhead by shaping and bouncing 2 flash heads off of a large white bounce that travelled through another large diffusion frame before hitting the subject. On the ground, there were two backlights also travelling through full diffusion frames. Creating a large, soft light source allowed his subject room to move around without the need to move lights accordingly. 

ABOUT GAVIN GOODMAN

Born and raised in Cape Town, South Africa, Gavin Goodman is a passionate surfer and image maker. After film school, he spent 7 years shooting mostly TV commercials within the local film industry. Somewhere down the line, Gavin felt the call to switch to still photography and was able to transfer his eye for storytelling and technical knowledge of light and camera over to the new medium. Being based in Cape Town has given Gavin the opportunity to take part in many incredible campaigns over the years. Recently, he started a new venture called Semblance Agency where the team collaborates with interior designers to create photographic fine art for various developments around the world. See more of Gavin’s work here or @gavin_goodman.