How 100 portraits will tell different stories of identity across five countries

The “100 Portraits of Becoming” project will document the identities, experiences and personal stories of 100 people across five countries, beginning in Kenya. [AI Generated]

A global portrait project will document the lives and identities of 100 people across five countries, beginning in Nairobi with Brazilian artist Angélica Dass behind the camera.

The two-year initiative, “100 Portraits of Becoming”, will start in Kenya before moving to the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Brazil.

Participants will have their portraits taken in natural light, without filters and in clothing of their choice. They will also share personal accounts of their lives, experiences and the changes that have shaped who they are.

The portraits and stories will form a digital archive exploring identity and representation at a time when artificial intelligence is increasingly being used to create and interpret images of people.

Dass, whose international portrait project Humanæ has examined perceptions of race and skin colour, said the new initiative would allow participants to present themselves on their own terms.

“As a photographer, I realise that I can be a channel for others to communicate. The ‘100 Portraits of Becoming’ initiative with TECNO creates such a channel for people to speak for themselves and be seen on their own terms,” Dass explained.

The artist said the project was less about defining people through their appearance and more about allowing their individual stories to emerge.

“My portrait practice has always been less about documenting appearance and more about creating space for people to exist beyond assumptions,” she added.

The project brings together Dass's portrait practice and TECNO's imaging technology, with the company providing the smartphone cameras used to capture the portraits.

The initiative comes as questions grow over how people are represented in digital images and artificial intelligence systems, particularly when technologies are trained on datasets that may not fully reflect human diversity.

The first participants in Nairobi include entrepreneurs, farmers, dancers, artists and other creators whose experiences reflect different aspects of life in Kenya.

One of them, Alexander Odhiambo, co-founder of enterprise software company Solutech, said people should have the freedom to define themselves rather than be defined by outside assumptions.

“People are always quick to tell you what you are and where you fit,” Odhiambo observed. “I stopped waiting for that. The story that counts is the one I'm writing myself.”

The project will eventually feature 100 portraits and accompanying personal stories on a dedicated online archive, with the first portraits expected to be published in August.

TECNO's Universal Tone imaging technology will be used to capture the portraits. The technology is designed to improve the rendering of different skin tones in smartphone photography.

The company said the initiative reflects growing questions about how people are represented as digital imaging and AI technologies become more widespread.

Dass has previously explored similar questions through Humanæ, a portrait series that challenges conventional ways of categorising people by race and skin colour.

Her work has been exhibited internationally and has focused on using portraiture to draw attention to individual identity rather than broad racial labels.

“100 Portraits of Becoming” will continue for two years as it moves across the five countries, building an archive of portraits and personal accounts centred on people's individual experiences.