Teddy Tavan

Bio

My name is Teddy Tavan Juma – an architect and serial creative. I transform scarcity and ordinary props into powerful visual narratives: images that capture the pulse of our times, painted in color and emotion, even when they whisper discomfort.

I grew up in the Maasai countryside of the Mara, where culture was rich but resources were scarce. I was one of nine siblings, raised by a carpenter father and a tailor mother – both of whom unknowingly passed down to me a love for crafting with my hands. Their skills, combined with the resourcefulness of a large family, shaped my ability to improvise and build makeshift props from whatever was available.

In that small town, I witnessed how culture could ferment, how humor could choke, and how vitality could be stripped bare by social injustices – yet I also learned to play and smile. As a child, my brother and I wrote short scripts for imaginary movies, books, and visuals that never became art.

Later, I turned to drawing, painting, animation, and photo compositing, until I finally landed behind the shutter of a camera, with my brother once again in the picture.

My journey since has been about reflecting the times, shaped by scarcity that taught me to create with whatever was at hand: paper, paint, plastic, and shadow. This scarcity informs how I frame my subjects: minimal clothing, pared-down props drawn from everyday life. To me, props carry memory and cultural weight; they are vital elements of a composition.

Although separate from my architectural education at first, by my third year I began drawing parallels. Architecture taught me how to break rules: to defy color, light, and contrast with the intention of communication. I often place compositions against the sky, as I grew up believing our creator resides there; it is my way of framing creativity against something greater. Natural daylight and harsh sun remain my tools, grounding my photographs in honesty.

As I catalog my first three years of work under the portfolio Maa Eyes (short for Maasai speakers), I invite you to see, feel, and drum along with the rhythm of these stories.