
Terna Jogo, Photography, Frontrowzine
“Every single week I have a moment where I have a life crisis, what am I doing?” Terna is one of the best creative minds I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting and working with. She’s started up frontrowzine, a platform that puts the spotlight on black-owned brands; have a look at my personal favourite ‘behind the brand’ on their page ft Rosette from Revival! She works with GUAP magazine but is also a fulltime student at UAL doing fashion photography. She has big plans for the future and is already making her mark, go check out her recent project ‘The Triad of Traditions of Identity’
#thenewblackvanguard


Creative Core
What does your creative discipline mean to you?
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I would like my creative discipline (photography) to be a medium for creating meaningful work that inspires original critical thinking, thoughtful change and action to shape the future of the arts and fashion (enterprises) for black people but in particular black women.
Where do you draw most of your inspiration from?
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Everyone and everything.
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Who inspires you creatively?
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Everyone and everything, literally.
Is your creative work Full-Time or Part-Time?
Full-Time
How do you manage financially, especially with social pressures? How do you cope/balance
mental health? Do you ever feel inadequate, or question yourself? If so, how do you deal with this. How do you overcome these negative/dark emotions
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I don’t have a full time job, as I am a full time student, but I have 3 different jobs that generate income for me and by the time I work all of them it does add up, not quite full time but close. Although having various and less demanding sources of income grants me a lot of free time to do my creative work, it can be quite chaotic and unstructured but I think as a person it keeps life interesting and stimulating for me.
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Every single week I have a moment where I have a life crisis, what am I doing? why am I doing it? Will it/I actually amount to anything? Sometimes I think that’s why I move so slowly creatively because I worry putting in all this effort will be for nothing and maybe I should just focus on making money and doing life how everyone else does it. What moves me out of this space is honestly myself,
because intrinsically I know a normal life isn’t meant for me, money doesn’t motivate me and as a
result I do not hold on tight to it; I let it come and go and it always does just that.
I also don’t watch anyone else too closely, because there are several ‘smoke and mirrors’ in London. When I hear about other creatives achieving amazing stuff, I am happy for them because what is meant for them, found them and I know deep down, despite the doubt, the same will happen for me. I am in my time zone! I don’t have many friends and my family is not very close-knit so honestly no one has real influence over me but myself. I can motivate myself or self-destruct and I just choose to be positive.

Race
Advice
How has race had an impact on your creativity?
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Race impacts my creativity because my ethos is centred around representing black women and our individual versatility, there is no one or right way to be black and I would like more people to think like this. I try not to let race consume the way I create because race is a construct with the purpose of limiting and constraining those at the bottom of the totem pole. So although race is something I think about heavily and try to tell stories about in my images, I try to experiment and get inspiration from a range of other sources such as architecture, still life and trains.
What sort of obstacles have you faced whilst being a black creative?
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I can’t think of any obstacles I’ve faced that are based on
being black, but as a creative I think I face the same bumps every other creative experiences, nothing special!
What institutions would you suggest for someone starting out to join, one that can help jumpstart their career or give them guidance?
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There is always always space for someone new to come through and revolutionise an industry that has been around for centuries. I believe the way to do that is not to focus too hard on finding a unique selling point, but (I know it sounds cliché) just be yourself because you’re 1 of 1. No one else is going to do things exactly the way you will.
Develop strong interests, a hobby and personal style and know how to tell your story when people are open to hearing it. Also be okay with not sharing your story. Be integral and keep doing what you say you’re going to do and allow room for yourself to change direction, even if it means doing a complete U-turn and the rest will fall into place eventually. Allow room to really feel negative emotions and learn for yourself how to move past it and each time you WILL come out stronger and more developed. Trust yourself and the process, you’re in your time zone.
What advice would you give to someone doing something similar to you?
What advice would you give them if they were struggling mentally?
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The Dots, for inspiration and collaboration.
Frontrowzine is launching their next 'Behind the Brand' on 1st March. Follow them on Instagram to stay up-to-date here