- Matrix and American Beauty given new look by Senegalese photographers
- Artists wanted to pay homage to cinematic pieces that had influenced them
By Anna Edwards
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They are instantly recognisable - iconic photographs that immediately prompt the viewer to remember classic Hollywood films.
American Beauty is immediately obvious by the scene of Mena Suvari spread across a bed of roses, while most would automatically think of the blockbuster Matrix when they see Keanu Reeves clad in a long leather coat while spinning through the air.
But now one artist has transformed these Hollywood images by giving them an African makeover.
The idea behind this series is to pay tribute to iconic moments of Cinema which have highly influenced them
Mena Suvari in American Beauty, shot in 1999, made an impact on the photographer duo, who wanted to pay homage to cinema that influence them
Omar Victor Diop has created Onomolliwood - a fresh perspective of classic photographs using African models and slightly different details.
Instead of a bed of roses for the American Beauty scene, lush green plants were used to cover the model's modesty.
Breakfast in Tiffany's has an African model pulling the same coy smile, but wearing a white dress instead of Audrey Hepburn's classic black one.
The glittering jewellery, cigarette holders and scattered tea things on the table has been lovingly recreated.
The scene of Thelma and Louise, where Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon stare into the distance while police cars can be seen approaching them in the distance.
The scene is given a fresh twist in the project, with the same dusty background used, and the defiant-looking models gaze through the windscreen, just as the actresses did in the 1991 film, which also starred Brad Pitt.
The have headscarves wrapped around their heads, echoing the costumes used in the film.
But it is a motel, instead of a group of police officers, that looms behind the models.
The 1966 thriller Blow Up also features in the project, with the new photographs mimicking the scenes that film fans know and love.
Just like David Hemmings, an actor kneels over an actress who is splayed across the floor, apparently dead, as he takes a photograph of her.
Frida, the film based on the Mexican artist and starring Selma Hayek, is recreated by the pair of photographers - complete with Kahlo's famously bushy eyebrows
Diop worked with photographer Antoine Temp? to recreate the stunning shots.
'I wanted to imagine what these movies would look like if they were conceived and shot in Africa,' explains Diop, CNN reported.
'We started working with the movies we liked, the movies that had influenced us.
?
'I remember watching in the 1980s the same movies as the young people of Paris and New York and maybe Bangkok.
The two Dakar-based photographers recreated the Matrix scene where Keanu Reeves defies physics to contort his body to swerve a bullet
Strike a pose! Keanu Reeves' pose was perfectly recreated in the shot, but given a green tint to give it a fresh perspective
Thelma and Louise is given a fresh look in this shot, as the two models stare into the distance, just like the original stars did
Geena Davis starred as Thelma and Susan Sarandon took on the role of Louise in the famous 1991 film
'At the end of the day we're all the same young people regardless of where you were born and where you were raised and somehow I wanted to show this also through the choice of movies in the series.
Omar Victor Diop is a Senegalese photographer whose extensive work ranges from fashion photography to conceptual projects.
He offers a new perspective on contemporary African aesthetics, his Facebook page says.
Diop has earned a reputation as a rising name in his hometown scene, Okay Africa reported.
The hairstyle, outfit and coy smile mimic Breakfast at Tiffany's - made famous by Audrey Hepburn
The 1966 thriller Blow Up is given a fresh look here, as Tempe and Diop wanted to conceive of a Hollywood if it had been Africa-based
The film starred David Hemmings, who starred alongside Jane Birkin as a photographer who believes he may have witnessed a murder and unwittingly taken photographs of the killing
Though his work has been featured at exhibitions around the world, it was not until the success of his first conceptual project, Fashion 2112 in 2011 that he retired from a career in corporate communications in order to focus on photography.
Antoine Temp? is a French-American photographer who documents contemporary African cultural scenes through photojournalism and portraiture. He currently lives and works in Dakar, S?n?gal.
It is no wonder that the duo turned to Western films for their inspiration.
The Senegalese film scene is a relatively small industry. It has produced just five feature films in the last decade.
The artists had a long history and a variety of movies to choose from if they picked Hollywood productions - whereas the first Senegalese film was only made in 1955.
It was not until the Independence of Senegal in June, 1960, that the West African country's industry began to develop.
The 1970s is often considered to be the golden years' for the industry. Production flourished and a variety of award-winning films were made.
But by 1980, despite the country producing five full length films a year and numerous short films - no mean feat considering it had just a handful of directors and professionals to create such works - the industry began to collapse.
Funding became a crippling issue - the country could not provide the domestic resources and finance needed to help the industry flourish, and people could not afford to keep making the films.
Foreign funding was needed to produce the films, and instead of the movies being premiered in Senegal, they would have been expected to be shown abroad instead.
Salma Hayek and Mia Maestro starred in the biopic of the famous artist, who became known for her self-portraits, and the new photograph paid homage to the film (left)
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