rom his
beginnings as
a street-style
photographer
documenting
South Africa’s
most fabulous
cool kids; to
becoming
a cover star
of magazine titles like GQ; and recently being
tasked with taking official portraits for the
likes of the Obama family, Beyoncé and Naomi
Campbell, it’s beginning to seem like there’s
nothing Trevor Stuurman can’t do.
But far from the fashionable world he lives
in, his home in Johannesburg is a relaxed
escape from the bright lights and flashing
cameras – albeit one just as colourful, pattern-
laced and Afrocentric as his famous imagery.
The Kimberley-born photographer and
creative director’s Cape-Dutch inspired
cottage is located at the end of a long, leafy
driveway in Morningside, Sandton, where
its thatched roof is covered year-round in a
layer of fallen pine needles. Sunlight streams
into the cosy space through the windows onto
zebra hide rugs, illuminating walls and shelves
lined with a growing collection of artworks by
friends and longtime creative collaborators.
The works by artists Esther Mahlangu,
Manthe Ribane and Nelson Makamo are
among Trevor’s most treasured possessions,
he says, reminding him of their time together,
and each person’s place in his life.
‘Esther is like a grandmother to me,’
he says. ‘Our relationship started when
I was commissioned to shoot her for a film
project, and I got the chance to stay with
her. Over time, our relationship grew, with
us collaborating on artistic projects and me
taking close friends to meet her wheneverI could so that they could learn from her
as well. Living with her work is very special
because Esther doesn’t see what she makes
as art, but as a way of life. I take those lessons
from her, and I try to live with my own art
now as a daily practice.’
Trevor explains that his home’s decor came
together organically, and that there isn’t one
strict guideline to his aesthetic choices.
‘There wasn’t a moodboard or anything.
In fact, I never thought about decorating,’
he says. ‘This is the first place I moved into
in Joburg, and it has given me the room to
play more and to include my travels into my
interiors. I’m a pan-Africanist, and very pro
African, so I source a lot of inspiration from
the continent, which I think comes across in
the space. But most of all, at home, deadlines
and disappointments don’t exist, and that’s
what makes it important. It’s a space that
I fully own; a world that I created for myself.’ O
trevorstuurman.com‘I’m a pan-Africanist and ver pro
African so I source a lot of inspiration
from the continent.’ – Trevor