ktravula – a travelogue!

Interview with Yagazie Emezi

I caught up with Yagazie Emezi a while ago for a short conversation on her work and on the current Invisible Borders road trip. Here’s an excerpt:

You have spoken before about your interest in documenting physical scars on stranger’s bodies. What informs this interest? And what have you found?

For a while now, I have had a passion for body positivity and awareness, some of my videos address just that. Over the years, I have received numerous messages from people struggling to accept their bodies in various forms. I decided to embark on this project to find individuals who have come to terms with their bodies after going through extreme life changes and understanding their process so as to hopefully aid others still struggling to do so. I have found out so far, body acceptance is a continuous process. Just like we never stop learning in life, do we ever stop learning to accept ourselves through all our changes? Most of the people I have met yes, have accepted their bodies but it appears to be more of a resignation to their bodies.

Read the full interview on Brittle Paper.

Interview with Yagazie Emezi was published on May 29th, 2016, with the tags , , , , , under the Uncategorized category. There are currently no comments on this article so far.

Voyage Retour: Exhibition on Broad Street

WP_20131116_042WP_20131116_047WP_20131116_055WP_20131116_052WP_20131116_068WP_20131116_056WP_20131116_063WP_20131116_071WP_20131116_073WP_20131116_066An exhibition project by Museum Folkwang, Essen, Germany, in collaboration with Goethe-Institut, Lagos, took place on Saturday at the old Federal Government Printing Press on Broad Street, Lagos Island, adjacent from the Freedom Park (aka Old Colonial Prisons).

It was, according to the organizers, an exhibition of German and Nigerian photography on Nigeria and Africa. The content of the exhibition bears out the theme – photos spanning pre- and immediately post-independent Nigeria (and a few other African nation-states). It was also well-attended by interested art curators and producers in Nigeria.

These are a few photos from the event, featuring works from Nigeria, Leipzig, Ghana, Hamburg, and Congo, among others. Notable names under the works include Rolf Gillhausen (1922-2004), Wolfgang Weber (1932-1983), Germaine Krull, Robert Lebeck, J.D. ‘Okhai Ojeikere (b. 1930), and Malick Sidibe.

The exhibition will be on from November 17 to December 1, 2013. 10am – 4pm (working days) and 12am-6pm (weekends).

Enjoy the photos.

More information at Museum Folkwang and Goethe-Institut, Nigeria.

Voyage Retour: Exhibition on Broad Street was published on November 18th, 2013, with the tags , , , , , under the Art, History category. There are currently no comments on this article so far.

Amusing the Muse

Fullscreen capture 672013 111018 AM.bmpFullscreen capture 672013 110748 AM.bmpFullscreen capture 672013 110824 AM.bmpFullscreen capture 672013 110929 AM.bmp Fullscreen capture 672013 111831 AM.bmp Fullscreen capture 672013 112457 AM.bmp Fullscreen capture 672013 112547 AM.bmp Fullscreen capture 672013 112631 AM.bmp Fullscreen capture 672013 112722 AM.bmpHere are photos taken at the exhibition of photos and paintings by Nigerian artist Victor Ehikhamenor.

The exhibition, titled Amusing the Muse, took place between April 27 and May 31, 2013, at Temple Muse, 21 Amodu Tijani street, Off Sanusi Fafunwa, Victoria Island, Lagos.

The artworks beautifully arranged around the premises of the  Temple Muse (which is also an events shop, bookstore, and a fashion & lifestyle showroom), were given names like “I don’t know where to but let’s go”,  “To all the first ladies who love themselves”,  “Coup plotter before shower”, “Your head is correct”, “Home sweet home”, “Mr president after the coup”, “Adam and Eve waiting for a flight out of Eden”, “Your dancing is music inside my head”, “Yesterday and today waiting for tomorrow.”, “Your music is dancing inside my head”, “Nobody came to us”, and “Opportunities in the land of closed doors”.

Of form, the work varied from “Charcoal on canvass” to “Paintforation on handmade paper”, “Charcoal and oil pastel on canvas”, “Ink wash and acrylic on paper”, “Latex paint and charcoal on handmade paper”, and “Acrylic on wood and fabric”.

My interview with Victor has just been published at NigeriansTalk.

Amusing the Muse was published on June 7th, 2013, with the tags , , , , , under the Art, Observations category. There are currently 1 comment on this article so far.

An Observation…

That I am not as free, or as eager, as I would be in a foreign land, to whip out my camera at every available instant in order to take a picture. There is a little reluctance somewhere the source of which I can’t lay my finger on.

2013-04-26 05.57.42On the way to my home is a newly completed highway due to be open sometime soon. The project is still ongoing, and the stretch of the highway is destined towards somewhere farther into the far ends of the state towards a place called Epe. I have observed with impatience, bewilderment, affection, and exasperation as the construction workers toil day by day on the road, causing traffic build-up as they do so inevitably. The road is now done and almost ready for “commissioning” even if that will be done only by commuting tyres rather than an official government representative.

The traveller in me would have documented all the stages of this construction – at least to the best reaches of my camera. And then I remembered that for the better part of the last couple of months, I had no camera to use anyway. The experience with this new Xperia is an encouraging one and I hope to get fully back into this street photography game in earnest. What I have so far impresses me, and that’s a start.

An Observation… was published on April 29th, 2013, with the tags , , under the Observations, Travelling category. There are currently no comments on this article so far.

Adventures of a Camera

Camera 360 Camera 360 2013-04-17 08.53.39 2013-04-17 08.15.42 2013-04-15 16.19.49 2013-04-15 09.50.29 Fullscreen capture 4212013 12342 PM.bmp 2013-04-15 07.03.092013-04-20 18.25.09Once upon a time, a camera – a Canon handheld camera. Two cameras, actually, of the same brand, both purchased in the US. That is where the story begins and stops, except for a few other details: each originating in a Radio Shack shop, for about $250, and both ending up lost, along with a treasure trove of photographs that would never again be retrieved. One originated in Providence, Rhode Island, and disappeared at Six Flags, Missouri. The other at Radio Shack, Glen Carbon, and disappeared in a taxi in Lagos Nigeria.

And so one day, a bright idea: why not kill two birds with one stone? The camera on one of the latest Sony Xperia smartphones is reputed to be one of the best in the market. And since in need of a new phone anyway, an investment in a smart phone – the first for this traveler reputed for unexplainable reticence with regards to new technological fads – seemed, all of a sudden, like a good idea. The traveller gains access to the latest perks in mobile technology as well as a handheld camera all embedded in the same device.

It seems now to have worked so far, except for the occasional wait for the camera function to activate when summoned in the middle of another phone function. With thousands of new app functionalities to improve the camera experience, there seems to be something to keep me occupied for a few months to come. And then, a few days ago, I stumbled on Instagram, and the journey is complete. Here’s a platform for showcasing the trial and errors of one’s photographic experiences and experiments with colour and filter.

Enjoy these very few ones around Lagos, through the eyes of an Xperia lens.

Adventures of a Camera was published on April 21st, 2013, with the tags , , , , , under the adventures, Art, Fun, Observations category. There are currently no comments on this article so far.