“We are not here for props, we are here to inspire others”, a tweet read..
I typed a reply, “lowkey — we are just props maan, hyperactive — hyper intelligent props”… Then deleted it. Why is it mentioned here ? fuck it, hate it or love it, bump it or spell across the…. (Just kidding, paraphrasing Nas’s Purple) I mean you dare not say all you mean to say on Social media. But then, covfefe — anyways the tweet in itself turned into a set of thoughts around body parts and isolating them and props and what they have in common and stories etc so I decided to see what I have in my archive as I like to do with such itch.
Ofcourse the body — any body is an effective design, flawless when propped. Even looking closer for inspection has been a visual pleasure often to photographers. Old and now.
During the set up of an art fair I was part of, someone asked me to help fix a mannequin and it was fun and strange all at the same time. Fitting this heavy, slightly complex replica of human form sort of made me pay more attention to how interesting these singular units are on their own. Singular Islands of possibilities.
It’s even more interesting when they are isolated in a frame. You know how photographs still those observations long enough for you to ruminate over and soon a pattern forms. Validating what a friend told me about how your last photograph almost decides the next.
Here are a few and what I think (or not think) about them. Or maybe just the stories around them:
A mother, realizes suddenly that her son has dusty shoes while they are about to “step out” to church. In a quick slightly passive aggressive manner appropriately mixed with fierce motherly love — she is more comfortable polishing the shoes of the teenager while seated on a stool.
Every neighborhood in Lagos has them, well almost every. They are modest-sized grocery stores with an incense smell and aura yet effective inventory for anything you might need at anytime depending on whom runs yours. I like the very balanced chaotic arrangement of everything around the half peeking body frame of the Mallam.
The hands of Sandra Isadore. It would be more fun if you looked up who she is yourself..I think.
This isa lucky shot of a head caught between a speeding Keke. Let me rephrase that. I am trying to take a picture of a guy and suddenly a Keke Marwa speeds past and creates a very interesting motion blur that isolates the head of the guy.
Relaxed hair gets washed in a makeshift hairdressing set up in front of a home. What is seen here is a very beautiful image, I tell you. Very. The shapes of the anatomy and the rigid square and rectangles that make up the setup, while the black and white background of top right and left bottom puts a nice punch to it all. O ta. Lenu.
Every now and then, every religious or secular gathering, either private car or public bus ride, every street corner, private residences and online hubs — the youth of Nigeria has analysed the obvious problem of the Super Eagles nation. Yet failed to act. Or rather acting very slowly. Flapping feeble chicken cowardly wings.
Segun Adefila and Ade Bantu had a community development program called “Born Troway” in 2015 or so as intense as the name implies — it involved teens from secondary schools in Bariga. Who were taught different creative skills over a period. I was very impressed by the extent of the effect this sessions had on them. You could tell they needed an escape of some sort so bad, they all embraced each activity passionately and you could hear occasional stories of some of the kids who had to stop coming to rehearsals due to chores told with somber moods of some sort. The last day I photographed their practice and final performance of the Dance and drama group, What a day!
Another one from Born Troway
Takwa Bay, 2013 — I would often go there, still do sometimes. Especially walking down to the lighthouse back then was a thrill. This kid was avoids getting photographed by me, while I playfully follow him, he photobombs a shot that is being taken by another photographer to my right. I always interpreted it as something around pregnancy, conception. Not sure what the details are. Turns out the lady in the frame is Ify Mbanugo a very lovely person and a brilliant writer.
I cherished the day I took this photo, I am glad I responded to the impulse to have a conversation with them. Nneka and Korede have been dancing together for years, say a decade — they had come in for a photo shoot at Camara Studios where I was once an assistant. They were billed for a photo session that was slightly delayed and while they changed and flex their bodies in preparation — I observed that they had the most intense trusting chemistry and it wasn’t even sexual to be honest. They just clicked in that sense and I asked if I could take some photos. Those photos are some of my favorite ever till date.
Nneka flexed. Sounds and reads about right.
What does an actual 50 Naira and a cigarette butt have in common? Not a lot of value.
Wanzan, 2013 : An interesting shaving culture I documented in Oyingbo, one of the earliest series I stalked as a personal assignment and pulled off with my heart in my mouth and an audience. Amidst all of the energy that the area can be, the craftsmanship and community displayed among these men stood out and was a thrill worth documenting. Apparently it’s passed down through generations and members practicing across Lagos often have identity cards, a signature satchel that consists of all tools needed and prefer to work in company to create a hub of some sort, something like a barbershop as you probably know it.
What do you think? — please comment below
Feet descending a pedestrian bridge
A wooden bridge in OkoBaba, Ebute Metta.
Asides from the hilarious comments that I can’t seem to forget from the passers-by while I tried taking this photo, It always brings a particular Damien Marley hook to mind.
“I gots to keep on walking on the road to Zion, man/ We gots to keep it burning on the road to Zion, man”
The search for Shangri-la of some sort is the biggest premise for the convergence and migration to the urban. I pray we all find it and while we do I hope we do not miss out on the greatness in details.
