Iwas raised in a single-parent household by my mum and we’re very close. She is a nurse, but she also did a lot of flower-arranging. I would often go to hang around the florists with her and her arrangements were always around the house. When I was a kid she was also a Sunday school teacher and would run arts and crafts workshops at church. I think I began to appreciate colour, how to match things, and develop taste, from there. My sister also studied fashion – and I was always in her bedroom as that’s where I would go to watch TV. She would have all these posters from Dazed and Vogue, Nick Knight photographs, pictures of Naomi Campbell. I thought it was rubbish at the time, but in hindsight I can understand how those references have become important.
This image was the cover of my book, Regina, which was a massive moment in my career, featuring all the work I have done up to now, aged 26. A lot of it, and the way I see the world in general, is down to the women in my life. This image was an opportunity to celebrate them and show the strength of motherhood.
My mum allowed me to see life in pink, regardless of our situation – something I always want to pay homage to. She always told me she knew from very early on, from when I was in the womb, everything I would do, to this day. I believe that our lives are written before we are even born. This image speaks to those things, to new life. I’ve always felt as if my life is like a movie.
We used a prosthetic belly in the shoot. I had wanted to cast someone who was pregnant, but we weren’t able to do that in the timeframe, but I felt it was an important image to make in spite of that. There’s a strength I always want to show – a lot of my inspiration comes from old family photographs of my grandparents looking super proud, wearing their traditional Nigerian clothes.
My images are fashion but I always want to show the cultural resonances of those poses, the way people express themselves. I encourage everyone I work with to express themselves in a way that they feel is genuine. Each shoot is a mashup of everyone’s efforts, and I’m proud of that. A lot went into the beautiful, bold simplicity of this moment. I can only take so much credit.
From the second I decided to pick up a camera I knew that fashion was the best medium for me to express myself. There are no limits, it’s all possibilities – which is what I am most attracted to. I do feel a responsibility, as a Black photographer, to create timeless work. One day I’ll raise Black daughters, and I will need to explain things to them, and the role I played in the way they see themselves.
The titles I give my works are all possible names for my future daughters. Selah came from my mum reading me the Book of Psalms before I went to sleep. I’m also a fan of Lauryn Hill, who named her daughter Selah. I chose Regina as the title of the series and the book because I wanted something that had that meaning of queen, of someone regal, without individually naming those women in my life that the work is for.
I have always had confidence in my ability to create a good image that is challenging and doesn’t just conform to the industry standards. I’ve been creating my own audience so I don’t have to worry what everyone else thinks. I’ve been unapologetic from the outset and I feel like people understand what I’m trying to do. But havingsuch a big show in Londonaged 26 is insane. Coming through the space, I felt exhausted and I wondered when I found the time to do all this stuff. It’s great this exhibition is happening in my home city too – I’ll never get used to the idea of people leaving the house to go and look at my work on a wall. I generally don’t ask my mum or my sister about what they think of my work, but my mum was at the opening, and I asked her for the first time how she felt about it. She said: “I’m not surprised at all. It’s what I’ve been praying for.”
Born:London, 1998Trained:Self-taughtInfluences:“My mum.”High point:“My first picture.”Low point:“Manchester United losing the 2011 Champions League final.”Top tip:“Never stop asking questions.”
Gabriel Moses – Selah is at180 Studios, London,until 27 July.