Abebe HD 849/75

Description

J. D. ‘Okhai Ojeikere was one of the leading photographers in post-colonial Africa. He is most celebrated for his exhaustive documentation of traditional sculptural hairstyles, which regained popularity among Nigerian women as expressions of cultural nationalism in the wake of independence.

Using a taxonomic approach, Ojeikere photographed his subjects in square format, from the neck or shoulders up, with soft, even lighting before a white backdrop. He then printed the images in high-contrast black and white to accentuate the unique elements of each elaborately plaited hairstyle.