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J.D. ‘Okhai Ojeikere

Biography

Ojeikere was born on 10 June 1930 in Ovbiomu-Emai, Owan East, Edo State, a rural village in southwestern Nigeria. In addition to the dialect Emai, Ojeikere spoke Yoruba and English. He worked and lived in Ketu, Nigeria. At the age of 20, he took up photography, which was out of the ordinary for people in Nigeria, especially those in his village. Cameras were not in high demand and were of low priority as they were considered a luxury. However, in 1950 Enugu, Ojeikere bought for two pounds a modest Brownie D camera without flash, and had a friend teach him the fundamentals of photography. Ojeikere gained information about the Ministry for Information in Ibadan in 1951, and he would write the same letter to them every 15 days for two years.[4] At the end of 1953, they finally replied that they had received Ojeikere’s request, and it caught their attention. Ojeikere started out as a darkroom assistant in 1954 at the Ministry of Information in Ibadan. In 1959, he became very busy with his professional activities in Ibadan and decided it was time to marry. Before he left the village of Ogute-Emai, he had chosen his wife, Ikegbua. Once she came of age in 1959, they paid the dowry and held a traditional marriage ceremony in their village. The following year, the couple welcomed their first son. As Catholic Christians, they went on to have a total of five children. After Nigeria gained its independence in 1960, Ojeikere pursued his first job as a photographer. In 1961, he became a studio photographer, under Steve Rhodes, for Television House Ibadan. From 1963 to 1975, Ojeikere worked in publicity at West Africa Publicity in Lagos. In 1967, he was invited to join the Nigerian Arts Council. In 1968, he began one of his largest projects as he documented Nigerian hairstyles. This was a hallmark of his work and he printed approximately a thousand pictures of different African women’s hair. In 1975, after 12 years of working, while Ojeikere was chief commercial photographer, his job was abolished. He left the company with an excellent photo library that was still in use, allowing him to set up his own business at Lagos Island, opening a studio named “Foto Ojeikere”. At the first Nigeria Photography Award (NIPHA) ceremony, organized by the multimedia organization Fullhouse Entertainment and held on Sunday, 31 July 2011, Ojeikere was one of the prominent Nigerian photographers, alongside Sunmi Smart-Cole, [[Don Barber, and Amos Olarenwaju Osidele, who were given lifetime achievement awards. A large selection of Ojeikere’s work was included in the arsenale section of the 55th Venice Biennale d’arte, “Il Palazzo Enciclopedia” curated by Massimiliano Gioni in 2013. Ojeikere died on 2 February 2014, at the age of 83. He is the subject of a documentary film by Tam Fiofori entitled J. D. ‘Okhai Ojeikere: Master Photographer.

News / Ranking / Titbits / Awards

1995: Ojeikere’s first solo exhibition in Nigeria as well as an exhibition in Switzerland (first work shown outside his home country). 2000: J. D. ‘Okhai Ojeikere, Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain, Paris, France. 2001: J. D. ‘Okhai Ojeikere: Hairstyles 1968 – 1999, MAMCO Musée d’art moderne et contemporain, Geneva, Switzerland. 2005: Hairstyles: J.D. ‘Okhai Ojeikere, Blaffer Art Museum of the University of Houston, Texas, USA. 2009: Hairdos and Parties: African Typographies by J.D. ‘Okhai Ojeikere and Malick Sidibé, L. Parker Stephenson Photographs, New York. 2010: Sartorial Moments, Centre for Contemporary Art, Lagos, Nigeria. 2011: J.D. ‘Okhai Ojeikere: Moments of Beauty, Centre for Contemporary Art, Lagos, Nigeria. 2011: J.D. ‘Okhai Ojeikere: Moments of Beauty, Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki, Finland. 2014: J.D. ‘Okhai Ojeikere: Hairstyles and Headdresses, Royal Festival Hall, Southbank, London, UK.

Talent

J.D. ‘Okhai Ojeikere

Biography

News / Ranking / Titbits / Awards

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