Yann Turchi’s first photo book ‘Bonda Ndzie’ is dedicated to the cultural memories held within African and diasporic hairstyles. The French-Cameroonian hair stylist, wig artist and photographer captured this series of personal portraits in Paris over the past two years and now brings them together as a natural culmination of his life-long passion for the legacies and love expressed through hair practices; one that has taken him across the globe to research and observe different expressions of beauty. “Each braid is a thread that ties the present to the past,” Turchi says. “By photographing these hairstyles, I’m capturing invisible stories – the ones told through hands rather than words.”

An in-demand collaborator, Turchi has worked with the likes of Paolo Roversi and Harley Weir, with Dazed and Nataal, with Vivienne Westwood and MM6 Maison Margiela. And it’s no wonder given his sensitive and nuanced outlook, which also shines throughout the pages of this book.

To coincide with its release, Turchi enjoys an exhibition at Union de la Jeunesse Internationale, which is curated by Nogoflani Fofana and places his images in conversation with objects and concepts that reveal how the gestures of African beauty are passed forward from one generation to the next. Brava!

‘Bonda Ndzie’ by Yann Turchi is out now. The exhibition is on view at Union de la Jeunesse Internationale, 2 boulevard Marguerite de Rochechouart, Paris.