How do you see the relationship of photojournalism and fine art photography in your work?
The stories and the people I photograph are real (and not performative), but I photograph them in the way I feel best reflects the story I want to tell. Since it’s their stories (though I somewhat share in them), I often let them make some decisions on how they want to be photographed— I ask questions like, “ do you want me to photograph you in these clothes or you want to change them?” This is why I call them participants rather than use the word, “subjects.”
So, yes, the relationship between photojournalism and fine art photography in my work is in how I photograph my participants— it is in the capturing (in terms of the deliberateness of the compositional elements in the frames). This is the fine art part. While photojournalism requires capturing what you see as it is happening, fine art photography on the hand allows you to play around with elements in your frame (as long as you stay close to the “truth” of the story you are telling). In my work, I merge the elements of both. My work is documentary, but with a blend of fine art.
What is your process for finding unique stories?
I find stories everywhere— news, films, books (fictional and non-fictional), folktales—- just everywhere. But what piques my interests are social, political and cultural stories. Most times I am directly or indirectly connected to an issue and or people whose story I want to tell. This usually gives me a unique angle and deeper connection with the participants. And some level of accessibility. I first research by asking questions about the particular topic, person or people. I gather data from everywhere—- the internet, from television, from friends or their friends who are knowledgeable on that topic. Just anywhere. This is basically how I find my stories.
What keeps you motivated?
As a teenage boy I used to think I was going to change the world through social activism. It’s funny how that desire influenced my choice of course at the university. That course opened my mind to the power of storytelling and how stories can cause a change. So, when I finally picked up the camera after school, the desire to cause a change remained with me. I am not naive anymore to think I can change the world, but I believe I need to keep creating works that explore the social, political and economic reality of my country, Nigeria, to start conversations on issues that are less reported by mainstream media. Will my work change the world or Nigeria? I really can’t say. Will they spark up important conversations on important issues affecting us? Possibly. No matter the result, I know the works I am creating now are going to serve as historical documents—- they will tell our children how we lived and the challenges we are faced. So these are the things that motivate me to create.
How do you define an authentic image in a photo market where the foreign gaze shows us the one-sided story?
An authentic image, for me, is an image that depicts the reality of a people without the intent to mock or glamourize it to make it suit a particular narrative/notion about that place. In the case of Africa, it means photographing her people, places, issues and events from a place of
