Warren Gakuo's 'Portraits to Remain' celebrates Nairobi's creatives through monochrome photography

Portraits to Remain is a photo slideshow by photographer and curator Warren Gakuo of The Blackrobi Collective, and it showcases more than 200 black-and-white portraits in themed fashion to document artists and creatives in Nairobi over the past two years.

Curated by Adam Ibrahim and Gakuo, the event will be held on July 25 at the Contemporary Image Centre Africa (CIC Africa) in Westlands.

It explores themes of emotions, authenticity, memory, culture, fashion, and the beauty of human connection.

The slideshow has musician Valerie Muthoni, rappers, visual artists, and other creatives as muses, who then join the Blackrobi Collective, a community of artists and lovers of art.

It features portraits and themed fashion shoots captured in locations including The Mall rooftop in Westlands, Nairobi's CBD, Ngong Hills and Athi River.

He works exclusively in black and white, and he says the absence of colour directs the viewers’ gaze towards emotion rather than visual distractions.

“Black and white is honest. It’s soul to soul. When you look at the pictures, everything is relevant because you are not distracted by colour,” he says.

The exhibition also celebrates the camera that has created much of his work, a Nikon L330 inherited from his father.

Gakuo was introduced to photography while in secondary school, when his father would bring the camera during visiting days and encourage him to photograph his classmates. After years of using it, his father officially gave him the camera in 2024 when he moved out of home.

“He told me, 'You are using it better, and people are appreciating the pictures through you. You should have it, and I can borrow it whenever I need it,’” Gakuo recalls.

While the camera is an older digital model, he says that it has made his work more distinctive. He adds that black-and-white pictures are powerful because they present a feeling.

He started photographing in colour during high school before transitioning to black and white in 2020 after learning new editing techniques. He says the monochrome format evokes timelessness.

He explains that the name 'The Blackrobi Collective' was inspired by his love for the colour black and his connection to Nairobi. His muses then ended up being collaborators and joined the creative collective.

“When I take pictures, they are not mine; they are ours. That is how we grow the collective. I have taken pictures of the same people over the years that document new aspects about them,” he says.

Gakuo is also a designer and has created custom posters for the exhibition in collaboration with CIC Africa.

The event will also feature an open discussion with attendees. His practice spans portraiture, fashion, editorial, and lifestyle photography.

A graduate of business information technology from Mount Kenya University, his photography practice takes up his after-work hours.

Gakuo says that the title Portraits to Remain is about memory and permanence.

“When I look at the title, I see timelessness. Even when I am old, I still want to hold a camera like a young artist. Black and white is about memory,” he says.

Photos: Courtesy