PHOTOGRAPHER UCHECHUKWU IBEMERE
Today Leila Antakly speaks to the Lens Culture Black and White Photography Awards Finalist
Uchechukwu Ibemere ( b, 1995), is a visual artist & conceptual photographer practicing the art of photography through his iPhone and is based in the vibrant city of Lagos, Nigeria. As we explore today, his work features a series of black and white portraits exploring life in Lagos, blackness and relationships between fashion, art and up-cycled materials. "SANCTITY" a portrait by the artist made him finalist in the LensCulture Black and White Photography awards in 2021.
Tell us about your greatest inspirations or influences?
My immediate environment is one of my greatest influences. From conversations with friends, acquaintances and neighbors, there's always something to take away from every chat and other people's experiences and how they view and navigate their way through the world. I'm fascinated by the difference in values and beliefs of people as opposed to mine, and I do my best to engage in conversations with such people which in turn influences my work and makes me want to document it as a moment in time conceptually because every image holds within itself a solid meaning.
Social and environmental issues are also one of the things that influences my work... why can't a man be emotional, why can't a man show emotions and openly feel emotionally down as opposed to how we're deemed to always be strong and unaffected by certain events which in turn is one of the reasons why there's a large amount of suicidal men out there. When my Mum passed away 2 years ago, I had some friends asking me to move on barely a month after her passing, all in the name of me being a man and having to be/look strong. These are some of the issues I try to address through my work and I am working on a series which will project how these issues affect men.
Tell us a bit about your creative process?
I spent a year and a half interning as an errand boy for a fashion brand here in Lagos between 2018 and 2019... and now I currently work as a fashion assistant alongside being a conceptual photographer. So my experience in fashion is playing a huge role in my creative process and final body of work.
Peggy S. Amison once told me that everything is a tool in photography and I couldn't agree more. I mix a touch of fashion and up-cycled materials such as bottle caps, sponges, plastic jerry can covers and rusty iron to make fashion pieces thanks to my experience in the fashion world, in creating fashion pieces which I in turn capture through my mobile device as art photography. Using everything from the washed walls of my home and laundry lines as my backdrop. I believe that there are no limits to what can be created through photography as long as there's a will and little bit of thinking outside the box.
How has the pandemic affected your creativity and how do you see the world changing?
If anything, the pandemic has greatly pushed me to share my work and creative process more than ever. Collectors enjoy a little behind the scenes of how a piece was created which also helps them get to know an artist better. If it weren't for the pandemic, I probably wouldn't have gone to the lengths I did in my work. The pandemic has also had curators looking out for artists like myself exploring the arts from my part of the world when selecting artists for certain gigs and opportunities. Everyone now spends more time researching online, especially through social media which is where I've made 80% of the connections I have in my artistic journey.
The world has greatly gotten used to meeting virtually, conducting virtual exhibitions and all sorts. I believe there's so much room for growth and trust in the creative industry and world at large which is going to change how things are done worldwide overtime.
Who do you consider to be an icon of our time?
Ye (Kanye West). I love how his mind works and his energy towards creative collaboration.
Besides him, my friends who are one way or the other involved in the arts and greatly influence my work are the only ones I majorly pay attention to and consider as my icons because we're all going to take up space sooner or later. Some of these artists are Tólù Ogunleye, a photographer whose work explores vintage automobiles, documentaries on everyday life and also addresses LGBTQ issues through her work. And also Olivia Onuk, who explores art as therapy and digitally paints black figures featuring multiple states of mind.
What does wellbeing mean to you, and what do you practice?
Although I find photography quite therapeutic, music is my major means of escape from the world when it gets too harsh. There's always a song to address any specific feeling or issues. And other times, I turn to long road trips far away from home to clear my head and regain my focus.
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