![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Left-Self-Portrait-IV-Right-Head-both-from-the-series-Human-Human-encounters-2014-\u00a9-Kadara-Enyeasi_Red-Hook-Labs.jpg\")
Left: Self Portrait IV, Right: Head, both from the series Human Human encounters, 2014 \u00a9 Kadara Enyeasi_Red Hook Labs<\/p>\n Left: Self Portrait IV, Right: Head, both from the series Human Human encounters, 2014 \u00a9 Kadara Enyeasi_Red Hook Labs<\/p>\n
In the age of the dreaded selfie, self-portraiture has reached saturation point. The introspective turn of the “front camera” has changed the way we communicate, and has left us to drowning in a sea of faces. It begs the question: what space does this deluge of self-expression leave for self-portraiture in art?
\nUsing his own body as a muse, the art of Nigerian photographer Kadara Enyeasi aims to explore this quandary. The European art world has been quick to welcome the Lagos-born photographer \u2014 he’s already a FOAM talent, and set to show at UNSEEN. \u00a0Yet the reception for his work in his homeland has been lukewarm. These contrasting responses immediately raise questions about the co-option of black bodies by the European art scene, and the fetishisation of black bodies through art in general. We caught up with the 23-year-old to talk about the self, Nigeria, and the representation of black bodies in the art world.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Idowu-from-the-series-Human-Encounters-2015-\u00a9-Kadara-Enyeasi_Red-Hook-Labs-1.jpg\")
Idowu, from the series Human Encounters, 2015 \u00a9 Kadara Enyeasi_Red Hook Labs<\/p>\n
How did you get into photography?<\/strong><\/em> Much of your work is self-portraiture, what have you discovered about yourself through using your body as your subject?<\/strong><\/em> What are your thoughts on the fetishisation of black bodies in art, particularly in the “West”, and how does this change the way you work?<\/strong><\/em> You worked on “Human Encounters” for a number of years. How did your work progress throughout this period and how has this influenced your current work?<\/strong><\/em> 23 year-old Kadara Enyeasi is the Nigerian photographer using his body as a muse<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":56949,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11856,139],"tags":[9251,9252,745,9253,154,9254,9255],"class_list":["post-56600","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sleek-art","category-art","tag-black-bodies","tag-fetishisation","tag-foam","tag-kadara-enyeasi","tag-photography","tag-self-portraiture","tag-unseen"],"acf":{"main_category":null,"legacy":"1","exclude_from_ads":null,"hero_title":null,"subtitle":null,"hero":null,"teasers":null,"facebook_image":null,"related_articles":null,"next_article":null,"sleek_card_focus":null,"content":null},"yoast_head":"\n
\nI got into photography at the age of 13. Back then, my sister was an aspiring model, and we were gifted with a 2MP Nikon camera (which I still have) that Christmas. I started out taking photographs for her portfolio, and then later, I turned the camera on my other siblings. I continued this form of timed, performative photography, which I learned later on was viewed as an art form.
\nWhat are the main ideas behind your work?<\/strong><\/em>
\nMy work revolves around performance, black body stereotypes, and politics. Recently, I’ve been really into abstraction; particularly reducing the human silhouette to an abstract form. I see my work as very political because it centres around the black male nude specifically. In a highly religious and traditional country like Nigeria, the male figure is seen as a taboo, and its exploration in art is minimal. My work challenges that.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Self-Portrait-I-from-the-series-Human-encounters-2017-\u00a9-Kadara-Enyeasi_Red-Hook-Labs-1.jpg\")
Self Portrait I, from the series Human encounters, 2017 \u00a9 Kadara Enyeasi_Red Hook Labs<\/p>\n
\nMy self-portraiture is performative. I don’t think too much before I turn the lens on myself. I got into self-portraiture because I wanted a model who could be totally vulnerable in front of the camera. I wanted to show a particular softness in masculinity that most men in Lagos didn’t want to identify with. It’s more about me communicating through the use of my body.
\nYou\u2019ve said previously that you\u2019re not always happy with the response to your work in Nigeria. Why do you think the ideas are better received elsewhere?<\/strong><\/em>
\nNigerians, in my opinion, enjoy things that they are comfortable with. Recycled ideas, similar themes. And to be totally honest, there is nothing wrong with that. My issue begins when they shut out new ideas because they don’t understand or feel that it challenges some ideal they believe in.
\nHow has Nigeria influenced your work?<\/strong><\/em>
\nI am not entirely sure I have a positive response to that question.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Self-Portrait-III-from-the-series-Human-Encounters-2014-\u00a9-Kadara-Enyeasi_Red-Hook-Labs-1.jpg\")
Self Portrait III, from the series Human Encounters, 2014 \u00a9 Kadara Enyeasi_Red Hook Labs<\/p>\n
\nLet’s be honest here, it’s all a trend. I believe genuine photographers willing to express something through the black figure will do so effortlessly and the resulting work will speak for itself, devoid of imitation and mediocrity.
\nYou\u2019ve talked about the correlation between art and identity \u2014 how has your own identity shaped or been shaped by your art practice?<\/strong><\/em>
\nI like to believe I am two separate people, and at the same time still the same person. It’s similar to the dual nature of Yoruba\u00a0orishas<\/em> in traditional folklore. When I am working, I am engrossed in the process, totally immersed. I began making paintings of my photographs, and I compare the feeling of making them to divination. I believe I was without an idea of my \u2018self\u2019 before I began taking photographs. The art itself has shaped my everyday self: dressing, walking, thinking, down to my basic interaction with family, friends, and strangers I encounter daily.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Bird-from-the-series-Human-encounters-2014-\u00a9-Kadara-Enyeasi_Red-Hook-Labs-1.jpg\")
Self Portrait III, from the series Human Encounters, 2014 \u00a9 Kadara Enyeasi_Red Hook Labs<\/p>\n
\n\u201cHuman Encounters\u201d began my first series of self-portraits. So far, I’ve been shooting the body of work for 7 years, under different series headings. \u201cThis house is not a home\u201d, \u201cI am not home today, come back tomorrow\u201d, \u201cHave you ever wondered\u201d, \u201cIn my house there are so many objects\u201d, and more recently \u201cScenario\u201d. The series have evolved over the years to become their own living things. I see myself shooting with the same initial ideas till this very day, each time finding a new crack in the door to explore.
\nWhat was collaborating with Foam and UNSEEN like?<\/strong><\/em>
\nThe show at FOAM curated by Azu Nwagbogu came as a shock to me. The work shown was a continuation of the \u201cL’Ouverture\u201d series I began in 2015 that was entered for a group presentation at the African Artists’ Foundation in Lagos. UNSEEN as well! I participated in the Nataal X Red Hook Labs New African Photography<\/a> exhibition this year and I was honoured to get feedback about my work from people I didn’t even know. People that knew me through my work. It’s been a blessing.
\nKadara Enyeasi’s work is on show at this year’s UNSEEN Photo Festival<\/a>\u00a0in Amsterdam, which runs from 22 – 24 September.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"