Look ahead from the seaside, Sister. The world is yours.
Packed with specs and reform, your functionally designed wear is waiting for you to take on the world.
Credits
Photographer: @addokorie
Model: @annesekyiappiah
Creative director: @tolucoye
Adwoa’s Friends Are Not Real began with @jackstauber short film Opal. In that story, a girl wanders her home, surrounded by figures she first sees as strangers, only to realise they are her own family. They are present but not loving, so she escapes into her imagination. That stayed with me, because it mirrors how many of us grow up in spaces that look complete yet lack care.
Adwoa moves through the same silence. She is a child left behind, whether through neglect, absence, or love withheld. Her laughter has no reply. Her questions fall into still air. To survive, she turns to her dolls. She dresses them, feeds them, tucks them in, and speaks to them as though they were alive. They never respond, but their presence keeps her going.
These images are about loneliness, but also about the fragile escapes we build when we feel unloved. Many of us have carried that silence in different forms. We have seen friends drift away. We have grown up in families that did not give what they should have. We have lost parts of ourselves in order to survive.
What I wanted to show is persistence. Even in silence, Adwoa keeps reaching out. She creates care where none is returned. That is not delusion. That is resilience.
— Nana Kwadwo Agyei Addo
Please read the full story on my website addokorie.com or click the link in my bio ❤️
This Thursday I’m sharing my personal project titled Adwoa’s Friends Are Not Real. It is about loneliness, abandonment, and the fragile escapes we build as children when love is missing.
Just wrapped up an incredible campaign shoot for @whitewall.art 2025 Experience issue, featuring the phenomenal @amoakoboafo
From his early days organizing drawing competitions with friends to his vibrant exploration of emotions and representation, Amoako’s journey is nothing short of inspiring. Now, he returns to Vienna for a powerful homecoming with his first European museum show, Proper Love, at the Belvedere Museum (October 25, 2024 – January 12, 2025).
Through this campaign, I had the honor of capturing the essence of his vision—a celebration of community, identity, and connection. Grateful to be part of sharing his story. Check out the feature in print or online at whitewall.art.