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Photographer Prince Gyasi shares Vision and Inspiration Behind the 2024 Pirelli Calendar

Prince Gyasi arrives for the 2024 Pirelli calendar launch in London, Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023.   -  
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Alberto Pezzali/Invision

USA

Photographer Prince Gyasi drew upon his childhood sense of wonder growing up in Ghana to create the 2024 Pirelli calendar.

Photographed in Ghana and the U.K., the collection features prominent figures such as Idris Elba, Angela Bassett, Naomi Campbell, and others.

While promoting the project in New York, Gyasi discussed the influences that shaped this year's theme, "Timeless."

"I grew up in Ghana, born and raised there. So, if I'm telling any story, I'll be narrating it from a Ghanaian perspective. However, I had access to a variety of influences, such as movies, music, and elements from different ethnicities, generations, and countries," Gyasi explained.

For the project, Gyasi tapped into his inner child, emphasizing the need to be childlike to generate imaginative ideas and access memories.

Using colour as a motif, he selected individuals who had inspired him throughout his life, including poet Amanda Gorman, writer Margot Lee Shetterly, and filmmaker and recording artist Jeymes Samuel.

As the director of the award-winning film "The Harder They Fall," Samuel found himself on the "other side" of the creative process.

"Usually, I'm the person telling the story, working with a vast array of talent, directing, and guiding everyone. So, it was truly liberating to surrender oneself to the vision, to someone else's story," Samuel expressed.

Shetterly, the author of "Hidden Figures," described her time in front of the camera as a thought-provoking learning experience.

The Pirelli Calendar, first published in 1964, has since gained renown for its high-art aesthetic and captivating shots of the world's foremost stars.

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