“Legends” by Mambu Bayoh
Imagine the character and life experiences which inspire someone to become the Champion of the World. To dedicate oneself to a life of boxing, one of the most combative sports since the origins of the Olympic Games, one must have a lot of drive, endurance and resilience. Many fighters who climb the ranks of boxing, have remarkable life stories. Many have overcome deeply traumatic life circumstances to rise, through blood, sweat and tears, into the Champions of our hearts that they become.
“Legends” is a series of fine art portraits created by Mambu Bayoh in collaboration with T.K.O.O. to document the honour and grace of these culture icons. We aim to document the epic triumph these Champions have accomplished through intimate insights into their faces, postures and emotional experiences. Our intention is to capture portraits which will help the world remember, who these Legends are, intrinsically; leaving a record for history to reflect on.
MAMBU BAYOH, is a Sierra Leonean/Liberian born artist based in New York City. He entered the industry with the goal of implicitly visualizing the unspoken, the overlooked, and that which typi- cally resists easy documentation. A social worker who moonlights as an artist, Bayoh’s keen and uncanny ability to create a visual voice capturer’s a narrative that connects the audience to the subject. With private and public exhibitions that spans from Art Basel Miami, New York, London and Africa.
His recent project includes working as a partner on developing Google’s Real Tone for the Google Pixel phone. The Google Real Tone project challenges innate biases in AI technologies in camera’s to accurately portray the skin tone for better imaging of black and brown skin tones. His work has been acquired by private collectors globally, including the Harlem Studio Museum/MoMA’s permanent collection.
Mambu’s objective is to audio and visually capture “Legends” of boxing. Evoking their character, spirit and experience to highlighting their achievements, challenges, and legacy. Our goal is to exhibit these portraits internationally. Each image sold will contribute towards each fighter’s legacy, health and financial needs. Eventually, we would like to expand these captured stories into a docu-series for the “Legends” and their legacy.
