Mercy Moktar is a photographer who is all about “playful and elegiac” portraiture

London-based photographer Mercy Moktar brings a gentle energy to everything they capture with their lens. “I don't see style as separate from content but as a way to manipulate or arouse feelings in the viewer,” Mercy tells us. That isn’t to say Mercy’s work is not beautifully stylish (it is), but there is something emotionally stirring in each photo that prioritises its subject over strict adherence to form or composition. “Research and interview techniques are at the heart of my process,” Mercy adds. “I try to understand the history of the person I'm making a portrait of, or the history and context of the ideas or emotions I'm trying to communicate.”

As such, a lot of Mercy’s work feels documentarian, like a visual diary of sorts. Some photos of theirs may be cleverly staged or shot-listed, yet it never differs from that personal and somewhat candid style we so love about Mercy’s eye. Subjects covered by Mercy often include the dialogue, history and solidarity between LGBTQIA+ communities. “I‘m starting to see a lot of my work as more generally about feelings of belonging and displacement,” Mercy adds. They're all, in one way or another, “playful and elegiac” photos. “Lived experience is a phrase that gets thrown around a lot, and I'm just trying to make sense of my life.”

Most excitingly, we can expect to see Mercy's work in Oestrogeneration's first print issue out on the 2 June and in the Camp Trans group show and fundraiser from the 17 to 18 of June at Ugly Duck in London.