‘I wanted hairstyles that would complement the extravagant surf vibe’: Fede Kortez’s best phone shot

Last year, visual artist Fede Kortez travelled to the west of Ghana to direct a documentary on surfers. His base was Busua Beach, well known for attracting the worldwide surfing community to its swells. Kortez took a day out of the documentary schedule for the shoot, the idea for which he had been ruminating on for more than a year.

“I wanted to take some boys with their boards and style them up with vibrant hairstyles and cool accessories, with the beach in the background,” he says.

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The men pictured are young Ghanians Kofi Dallas, left, and Bruce Adabie, right, fellow young creatives and surfers. The trio were joined by Afro Ele, a hair artist from Benin, with whom Kortez had worked on projects before.

“I wanted hairstyles that would complement the extravagant surf vibe I had in mind. She came and did magic on the boys’ hair,” he says.

Kortez hails from Italy, but describes himself as “shaped” by South Africa. He says: “I have spent many more years of my life there than in my country of origin. It’s where I became the person I am today, and where I acquired my creative skills. The documentary, and this photograph, were my chance to kill the stereotype that African men don’t surf or swim. I captured exactly what I had envisaged.”