J.D. 'Okhai Ojeikere

Born in 1930 in Ojomo Emai, Nigeria. Lives and works in Lagos, Nigeria.

J.D. 'Okhai Ojeikere; Hair Styles
26 b/w photographs
Collection Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain, Paris
© J.D. 'Okhai Ojeikere

Ojeikere started his career in 1961 as a still photographer with a Nigerian TV station and opened his own studio, Photo Ojeikere, in 1975. Most African photographers of his generation worked solely towards customers and employers, but Ojeikere from early on pursued his own photographic projects with the aim of mapping the culture of his native country in various ways.

His comprehensive work has developed into a unique documentary, ethnographical and anthropological source. One of his most well known projects is ”Hair Style”, which comprises almost 1 000 black-and-white images. The series was commenced in 1968 and its photographs are systematically taken in everyday surroundings such as in the street, in offices or at parties, but also in his studio under strictly controlled lighting conditions. The sculptural qualities of hair and hairdos are shown distinctly and with consequence, but the series at the same time gives an impression of the ethnic multiplicity of Nigeria – more than 200 peoples with different languages and traditions live in the country. Most of the pictures are taken from behind, though profiles and faces from different angles also occur.

Ojeikere himself states that: ”All these hairstyles are ephemeral. I want my photographs to be noteworthy traces of them. I always wanted to record moments of beauty, moments of knowledge. Art is life. Without art, life would be static”.