We live in a visual world and as humans we are visual beings. Visual media has long since been used to directly influence how we think, feel and adapt to our environment by evoking emotions such as joy, curiosity and desire within us.
For our December cover issue, we delve into the mind of multidisciplinary creative, Francesco Mbele, who notably adopted this phenomenon when it comes to the artistic direction of his brand Franasonic.
The young creative and Johannesburg native is known for pursuing a variety of artistic endeavors. Having directed for Thebe Magugu, curating captivating gallery installations, and creating experiences for our youth as a DJ and party curator for Ebumnandini; Francesco has undoubtedly emerged as a prominent figure in the alternative scene as a jack of all trades. 2019 marked Francesco’s genuine coming of age as an art director when he established a distinct visual style which combines references to Y2k pop culture, with collage art and experimenting with the art of surveillance through VHS.
Mbele’s creative journey began when he was discovered as a model by MyFriendNed. During this time, Francesco would experiment with different photo-editing methods which he would post on his Instagram. He later switched between being in front of the camera to being behind the camera lens snapping photos of his friends, gathering both digital and film footage.
In partnership with Nando’s Creativity, we sat down with Francesco at his family home in Johannesburg to better understand his use of digital improvements that helped broaden his range of picture manipulation and garner his impressive ability to mold how reality is presented.
How would you describe the creative process that spearheaded your brand Franasonic?
I got into directing and making short films by documenting whatever was in front of me. I’m very inspired by a Japanese artist by the name Hiromix from the 90’s, and she essentially pioneered the current day style of everyday documentation of mundane things. So that’s what I was doing as well when I got my first phone with a camera and my first camera that could take videos.
Have you always been into VHS?
I guess I’ve always been into VHS and high aids and video aids, all of that because at a young age my dad bought a SONY video 8 and unfortunately, I was like 6 and I knocked it off the table and broke. So, one of my earliest memories is breaking a camera. Now in the current day I like to buy camera’s and fix them, it’s like an inversion.
What would you say feeds your creativity?
What feeds my creativity is a lot of experimentation and looking for something new in places where it shouldn’t be. I go to a lot of charity stores to find what I call non algorithmic inspiration because it’s things which have gone through a very specific journey for them to get to you.
Watch the full interview
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