Africa's Visual Vernacular by Uche Okpa-Iroha

share the same views and tend to reimage
and re-imagine their spaces along
similar itinerant perspectives. Esiebo’s
works are conduits for the expression of
his diverse visions, ideas and thoughts.
He often approaches his subject from a
journalistic standpoint. Esiebo covers a
wide range of topical issues like spirituality
or religion in “God is Alive” (2006
– present), gender and homosexuality
“Who We Are” (2007– 2010), sports/
football “Love It” (2006) and lifestyle
“Pride” (2012). Esiebo and Osodi
share similarities and influences which
suggest a possible cross-fertilization of
ideas and philosophies in their formative
years. Esiebo’s unique photographs are
a clear deviation of the clichéd anecdotes
and narratives of western gaze on
Africa. Clearly, his photographs are very
independent of any outside influences or
control as he is conscientious in reporting
events around him.
Another contemporary Nigerian photographer
is Abraham Oghobase (winner
of the Prix Okwui Enwezor at the 12 th
Bamako Encounter in 2019). Oghobase
is known for his reactive photography.
He explores the relationship between his
emotions, that of his subjects, and the
spaces of his encounters. His work delves
into the territories of conceptual photography
with primary focus on experimentation,
research, and materiality and lived
experiences. He sees his body as a blank
canvas upon which his narratives can
be superimposed. An avid self-portraitist,
Oghobase has a well-defined position
and voice in Nigerian and African
photography. His style of work and rich
portfolio has influenced young female
photographers like Adeola Olagunju and
Etinosa Yvonne Osayimwen.
Adeola Olagunju, a recent winner of
the Grand Prix Seydou Keita award at
the 12th Bamako Encounters (2019) and
an alumnae of the Nlele Institute Lagos,
also uses her body like Oghobase as the
subject. Olagunju focuses on memory,
vulnerability, experiences and emotions.
In her recent work “Home Is” (2019),
she is seen together with a model in a
staged project with a vibrant background
accentuated with textures and layers. The
colors, lines and textures are metaphors
which reflect the emotional state of her
mind as she ventures to conceptualize the
process of homemaking and the intricacies
that are evident in relationships
between spouses. The work is subtle and
addresses the performativity in photography
also seen in Abraham Oghobase’s
work. Her award winning projects in
Bamako “Transmutations” (2019) and
“Pilgrimage” (2018) use both photography
and video. A new dimension and
approach exists now among contemporary
photographers of African descent
who challenge limitations and stereotypes
thereby finding avenues through diverse
languages or media to engage with their
audience. Olagunju’s work in Bamako
(2019) had all the attributes of double
exposure photography where layers of
screens used in the presentation form or
serve as recurrent metaphors.
East Africa’s Optimism
Similarly in East Africa, we see the
excitement and vibrancy of colors in the
portraits of renowned Ethiopian photographer
Aida Muluneh. Muluneh is the
founder of Defta for Africa (DFA) and the
Addis Foto Fest. Muluneh’s work gives
a fairytale insight into the beauty and
lifestyle of African women through her
rich color portraitures. She is constantly
involved in introspection, questioning her
work and herself and trying to find new
perspectives to explain her philosophy.
In her recent project, “The Memory of
Hope” (2017), Muluneh integrates the
optimism which she believes shaped
her upbringing, youth and indeed her
life. She is also particular about western
stereotypes within the confines of gender
representation and identity. Muluneh
uses or places her models in the conventional
portrait layout, and mostly
explores the subject like a performance.
Photograph by Abraham Oghobase
6 / ZEKE SPRING 2020