Text Raïs Saleh | PHOTOGRAPHY KWABENA APPIAH-NTI | STYLING NELL KALONJI
Across the arterial roads of North and West Africa – from the fringes of Accra’s urban sprawl to the traffic-choked boulevards of Dakar, motorbikes do more than navigate space. They assert presence. In this fashion story, inspired by his hometown’s biker scene, Ghanaian artist Kwabena Sekyi Appiah-nti captures the charged culture of movement, turning his lens on riders and drivers who transform everyday mobility into acts of self-definition.
Nino wears mask STYLIST’S OWN, hoodie ACNE STUDIOS, trousers ALAINPAUL, gloves ALPINESTARS, shoes MODEL’S OWN
From front to back:
Boozie wears jacket LOUTRE, jeans AV VATTEV, hat ALPINESTARS, glasses MODEL’S OWN
Swavy wears jacket MARINE SERRE, glasses LOEWE
Chapo wears scarf and jacket GUCCI, shirt CONTEMPORARY WARDROBE COLLECTION, trousers VAQUERA, gloves ALPINESTARS, shoes MODEL’S OWN
Boozie wears jacket NICOLE MCLAUGHLIN, turtleneck LOUTRE, trousers AV VATTEV, glasses LOEWE, shoes MODEL’S OWN
gloves ALPINESTARS, shoes MODEL’S OWN
Originally published in Dazed MENA Issue 02| Order Here
Long associated with independence and improvisation, motorbike culture has offered an alternative rhythm to the rigid structures of urban planning and social hierarchy for decades–today, this has increasingly become the case. Vehicles are progressively becoming versatile canvases throughout visual culture, taking on new resonances that range from political critique to spiritual expression. “Bike culture pushes back against systems of control,” Kwabena explains. “It creates space for people, especially young people, to take charge of their lives on their own terms. In a way, it’s about forming your own identity, your own routes, your own networks.”
Documenting Biker culture across the world, from Africa to Europe, Kwabena’s fascination with Motorcycles highlights their global resonance and how they’re staples of street culture. Perhaps more than cars, the bike is a more prescient expression of rebellion. “When we think about bikelife culture,” Kwabena says, “people often think of the American scene, like Baltimore, where it originated, or the French bikelife community, which is also really big. But a lot of people don’t realise how big and ingrained these cultures are on African soil as well.”
Indeed, to traverse the roads of Accra or Dakar is to encounter not simply traffic; there is an element of theatre and performance to each ride. In such spaces, the motorbike becomes both a necessity and an expression, a functional tool repurposed into a stylistic instrument. From the suburban banlieues to the oil-slicked intersections, motorbikes carry goods, bodies, and dreams.
gloves ALPINESTARS, shoes MODEL’S OWN
He highlights how, for many, riding is a gesture of autonomy. “As a motorcycle rider myself, I’d say the biggest thing about bikelife culture that inspires me is the chaos and freedom it represents. There’s a raw individuality to it, but also a strong sense of belonging and brotherhood.” This duality—a freedom that is both deeply personal and innately communal—defines the subculture. Riders speak in sartorial code: customised helmets, DIY decals, sportswear repurposed as uniform. Their bikes, often built from salvaged parts, become totems of craftsmanship and rebellion. These machines are often stitched together with hope, ingenuity, and necessity—symbols of mobility in every sense of the word.
This need to be seen—to mark one’s existence amidst urban opacity—is central to bikelife’s quiet power. Throughout the Global Majority, an entire cartography of movement exists that state-sanctioned maps overlook. Where youth are often rendered invisible by state systems or misrepresented by international media, the bike offers a way to write oneself into the fabric of the city. Bikelife, as it emerges, is a reaction to exclusion—geographic, economic, and political. It becomes a choreography of a refusal to be policed; a reclamation of path and pace. It is, perhaps, the most accessible revolution. And in documenting it, Kwabena seeks to enshrine a movement. “By photographing it,” he says, “I’m highlighting a culture that’s often overlooked, yet deeply connected to identity, community, and freedom. Capturing this visually helps challenge the narrow and often stereotypical narratives we still see about African life.”
Originally published in Dazed MENA Issue 02| Order Here
Cast JEWARIA GAZAELE AZNAM, IMANI ANGELINA, SWAVY, NINO, PHILLY, KLUUN, BOOZIE, NII, hair stylist YASMIN ARION, make-up artist SARAH CLOÉ, producers TOM MONTEBAN, HERMIONE RUSSELL, photo assistant HICHAM WO, dop JASPER DE KLOET, grip JURRE VOS, styling assistants PRECIOUS GREHAM JOHNSON, HONOR DANGERFIELD, production assistant YENTLE VAN LEEUWUN