Film Abdi is capturing Black love in the magic of the dancery
In a city that demands ruthless individualism from its dwellers, Film Abdi has managed to capture the rare moments of togetherness that make us feel whole as a community in London.
Dani Zuko
Film Abdi has made his name capturing the essence of love across the dances of London. He is known for his staple silhouettes. The audience is rewarded with effervescent images that showcase bodies beautifully blending together, with their arms clasped tightly around one another as they move across the dancefloor. From friends to lovers, Abdi’s subjects are Black and joyous. His surrealistic portraits display a glimpse into the frantic, wide-eyed excitement of a gun finger salute to the DJ or the raver’s mouths wide open as they laugh with their friends. With his catalogue of highly stylised content, it is hard to believe that he has only been taking shooting seriously for under a year. As we chat over zoom, I ask him how he does it. Film Abdi shyly shrugs and refers to himself as ‘just your everyday South Londoner’. His journey, however, shows that he’s anything but your average marksman; the real core of his shots are emotions without limits.
Film Abdi acquired his first piece of kit in 2017 and it was sponsored by Student Finance. It was a hefty Canon EOS1300D which he casually used to begin visually documenting his friends and family. This became a hobby for Abdi that never left. Despite him being at university for a History degree, Abdi was nicknamed “that guy with the camera” amongst his friendship group on campus. His university experience in London acted as the springboard for his pursuits: it saw Abdi and his friends find their tribe across a scattered city. They started to carve out spaces in London’s nightlife for enjoyment, finding crowds from all over. With the capital’s nightlife being a maze, it took them a while to find their spec in the nights that they wanted. He recalls, “we've been doing parties for years, (but) it was only after uni that we found the good nights”. He then confidently assured me that he now “knows where to go”. Funnily enough, their freedom bid coincided with the first open summer-post-Covid.
Two things became evident to me as the conversation went on. Firstly, London’s rave culture has metastasized post-Covid – it seems like no one can stand to be inside anymore. We have an organic, DIY community culture that has grown in the likes of Recess, Dankie Sounds and Step Wize; all grassroots, London nights that were started by innovators from the black community. Secondly, the rave culture that has grown has equally taken on desirable and undesirable elements. For example, Abdi reels off his definition of a sick night out to me as “minimal wallflowers, no judgement and no inhibitions”. When these qualifiers are put next to a real picture of partying in the capital, the crippling self-consciousness that haunts partygoers and inhibits them from being their true selves for fear of judgement- whether through dancing or allowing themselves to be photographed- is what makes his work magic. For the crowds that arrive ready to dance, every weekend is a pick and mix of the best. Abdi’s signal is simple, “I’m outside, what’s good”?
Although moments in the heat of the rave are fleeting, they are worth hanging onto. While the art of creating visually stunning images is satisfying, it’s the feeling underpinning them that makes him pick up the camera. “If it feels real, I’ll capture it”. As much as sloppy drunk party photography can make headlines for being outrageous, Abdi goes after the intimate aspect that people would want to commit to memory. Not drinking is a trump card that ensures his hands are steady, so moving through the dance is an intentional breeze of documenting stories. Whether it’s the prickly heat of golden lighting on the dancefloor, or the cold blue lighting that illuminates Black skin, the composition and context of Abdi’s shots are their true power. He is privy to the raw, charged emotions that we experience in the dance and carry with us afterwards. With them, comes a thousand stories and infinite possibilities.
As I realise his DMs must be a treasure trove of the intertwined narratives of half of London, I ask what his favourite one is. He tells me the story of Nicole and Latoya, beginning “I took a picture of these two friends, they were just hugging in the middle of the dancefloor”. He continues reading the caption, “Nicole is one of my nearest and dearest, who I hadn't seen for a long time. We met up before heading to the event together, catching up on all of life’s events, wonders and challenges. A lot of time had passed since they’d last met, and a lot had happened in that time”. As he leans into the story, we learn that her friend had been grieving a loss, which she wasn’t aware of. “When a song came on at the event, they were vibing to their favourite DJ. And it was a song that reminded her of the pain and hurt she hadn’t yet processed. At that moment, she hung onto her friend”.
Simple, sentimental moments like these are Abdi’s reason to continue shooting. In his own words, “the images alone can tell a story, (but) when you have that context, it just becomes greater. I’m documenting our youth at the end of the day”.
Abdi’s photography is a reminder that although life in the city is harsh, there is love around us. His own love of the dancery lays the foundation for the storytelling of our stories. Those of purely unadulterated happiness, and those of loss and sadness. The moments of togetherness are the warmth that power us, and this summer he'll be right back outside doing it all over again, camera in hand.
