Natalija Gormalova: Weaving Destinies, Uncovering Injustices

In Accra, Ghana, where she lives and works, photographer Natalija Gormalova builds a documentary practice that transforms the lens into an instrument for denunciation and celebration of human resilience. At 38 years old, the artist – who found in photography an anchor after losing her mother at 17 – develops work deeply rooted in social and environmental justice, driven by the desire to capture human depth and the hope she admired in masters like Sebastião Salgado and Josef Koudelka. Her trajectory, which began with a film camera bought at a flea market, led her to Ghana, where she discovered the power of documentary photography and storytelling, collaborating with agencies like AFP and AP while developing impactful personal projects.

Her portfolio “Woven Fates” a finalist for the FotoDoc Photo Contest 2025, is an ongoing multimedia project that exposes the devastating effects of textile waste pollution in Ghana. Through the lives of the kayayei – women head porters who balance immense loads on their heads – the work reveals the intersection between environmental injustice, colonial legacies, and gender inequality. Carried out in the Kantamanto market, the largest second-hand clothing market in West Africa, the project shows how tons of discarded clothing from the Global North flood Ghana, creating a cycle of waste that suffocates beaches and overwhelms local infrastructure. More than denunciation, however, Gormalova celebrates the resistance of these women, creating space for empathy while questioning the global structures that shape these realities. The work perfectly synthesizes her quest to connect individual stories to global systems, maintaining a fascination with beauty and truth even in the most challenging contexts.

Learn more about this journey and the studio that has become a platform for emerging voices in the following interview.

A portrait of a kayayei carrying a heavy sack of second-hand clothes, overlaid with the polluted shores of Jamestown Beach in Accra—a powerful reflection of how Western consumption continues to exploit both people and the environment in the Global South. Some kayayei carry bales as heavy as 55 kg, leading to severe injuries to their spines and necks.
Image from the finalist Portfolio Woven Fates, by Natalija Gormalova.

The Kantamanto Market, situated in the central business district of Accra, is Ghana’s largest second-hand clothes market, with around 30,000 traders. Every week, Kantamanto Market in Accra receives approximately 15 million pieces of second-hand clothing from the Global North.
Image from the finalist Portfolio Woven Fates, by Natalija Gormalova.

Isaac has been ironing clothes for over 30 years at Kantamanto second-hand clothes market in Accra. He uses an old cast iron that has been heated on hot coals.
Image from the finalist Portfolio Woven Fates, by Natalija Gormalova.

How old are you? Where do you currently live and work?

I am 38 years old. I live and work in Accra, Ghana.

Tell us about your journey in photography. When did you start photographing and why? What role does photography play in your life?

I’ve always been a creative person, finding ways to make sense of the world through imagination. We didn’t have a camera when I was growing up, but I knew I wanted to study art.

I was drawn to the work of masters like Sebastião Salgado and Josef Koudelka — their images carried such depth, evoking the feeling that you were witnessing something profoundly human and hopeful. That’s what I wanted my work to do: to hold that kind of emotional weight.

After my mother’s passing when I was 17, photography became my anchor. It was one of the few things that helped me heal — without it, I think I would have been completely lost. I bought my first film camera at a car boot sale and began photographing life around me. Later, while studying photography, I spent countless weeks in the darkroom, sometimes going days without seeing daylight. Photography became an obsession.

My path eventually led me to Ghana, where I discovered the power of documentary photography and storytelling. I began working on personal projects while also contributing to AFP and AP.

Photography has allowed me to keep the deep fascination with the world, to search for beauty and truth, and to hold on to hope in humanity, even in the darkest times.

Rahina, a kayayei, takes a brief moment to rest after carrying a heavy bale under the scorching heat of Accra. She describes the city’s pollution as suffocating and dreams of returning to her village in the North, hoping to save enough to start her own business.
Image from the finalist Portfolio Woven Fates, by Natalija Gormalova.

Saida, a kayayei at Kantamanto market, carries heavy loads that strain her neck and spine, leaving her in constant pain. Despite the physical toll, she endures the hardship to support her family and send money to her child in the North, driven by the need to provide a better future.
Image from the finalist Portfolio Woven Fates, by Natalija Gormalova.

In the cramped space of a single room in Agbogbloshie slum, Rahina braids her friend’s hair, one of ten kayayei girls sharing the tiny quarters.
Image from the finalist Portfolio Woven Fates, by Natalija Gormalova.

Tell us about your finalist work for the FotoDoc Photo Contest 2025. When and where was it created? What is its concept? How does it fit into your photographic practice?

My work, Woven Fates, is an ongoing multimedia documentary project that explores the devastating effect of textile waste pollution in Ghana. Through the lives of the kayayei—women head porters who carry enormous physical and economic burdens—the project reveals the intersection of environmental injustice, colonial legacies, and gender inequality. At its heart, it also celebrates their resilience, and fight for dignity in the face of hardship.

For the past several years, I have been documenting life in Kantamanto, West Africa’s largest second-hand clothing market. This is where thousands of kayayei work, and where the global trade in discarded clothing becomes tangible. The market is a lifeline for many, but also a symbol of an unjust system: poor-quality, unsellable items arrive by the ton, contributing to a cycle of waste that overwhelms local infrastructure. The consequences are visible everywhere—our beaches are choked with textile debris, pollution that Ghanaians did not create yet are forced to endure.

In my work I try to connect individual stories to wider global systems, creating a space for empathy while questioning the structures that shape our world. Woven Fates is both a testament to local communities and a call to acknowledge the global responsibility in this environmental crisis.

What projects are you currently working on? What are your near-future plans for photographic production?

I recently founded Kanda Photo Studio in Accra, an experimental space dedicated to sharing the overlooked stories of the Zongo community — primarily Muslim migrants from Northern Ghana and the Sahel. At the Studio, I document life as it unfolds, creating portraits that act as resistance and preservation of stories of migration, identity, and belonging.

The studio has also become a place for artistic experimentation and dialogue, where I work with other artists to respond to the current political climate through visual storytelling. My near-future plans focus on expanding both my long-term projects in Ghana and the studio’s role as a collaborative platform for emerging voices.