In the Omo Valley the local Surma and Mursi tribes decorate the territory of their naked bodies with whatever nature offers, such as leaves, flowers, grasses, butterfly wings and snail shells as well as the occasional pen top or Kalashnikov cartridge. The author captures these decorations to form a parade of African fashion.



Photographer Hans Silvester travelled to the remote Omo Valley to capture the striking body art of the local Surma and Mursi tribes. Traditionally nomadic, the tribes decorate the territory of their naked bodies with whatever nature offers – leaves, flowers, grasses, butterfly wings and snail shells – plus the occasional pen top or Kalashnikov cartridge. The spontaneously woven hats and headdresses are part fashion, part trophy display, part protection from the sun – but mainly just the expression of a joyful creative spirit. Silvester’s astonishing photographs capture these decorations to form a parade of African fashion that is as rich as it is ephemeral.