 |
| Adigwe Fruithloop Ndubuisi |
 |
| Ralph Eluehike |
The title of Ndubuisi’s work is “Country Folks”. He
revealed that he grew up in a remote area in Ejigbo, Lagos, that was what
pushed him into photography.
“I use my works to bring out people in remote areas
so the world can see them and help them. They are living under one Dollar per
day in this country. They are striving to survive even as they are going
through pain of hardship. They are struggling that they become somebody great,”
says the 26-year-old native of Obior, Aniocha North Local Government Area,
Delta State.
Despite the economic hardship many Nigerians are
facing, Ndubuisio does not stay in one location. He moves around Nigeria to uncover
interesting people and places. One of his works has three naked children in a
boat. He sheds light on that: “I normally move around with my camera. When I
saw them in a boat in Bayelsa State one hot afternoon, probably they just
returned from school and their parents asked them to go and take shower.
Normally, they go to the river to swim after school hours, so they were
actually having fun there.”
There is a photograph of a woman in Ibadan, Oyo
State, who works in an abattoir. “She said it would be nice if the government
can be giving them stipend every month. She fetches water for people at the
abattoir and they normally pay her little amount of money by the end of the
day. She was tired when I saw her. So she asked me to tell the government to
come to their aid, that they are really suffering.
Ndubuisi has been into documentary photography for
three years, professionally and that is what he does for a living. He suggested
that photographs can be used to transform Nigeria and the world through the
stories he tells using with his camera.
“If I was not
into photography, I am not expected to be in this life. Everything I do is
photography. I live and breathe photography. It is my passion and what I love
doing. In the next five years, I see the industry turn around for me. I can’t
really explain it but, I know something good will come out from my profession.”
He disagreed with the statement that a lot of people
don’t patronise photographers and artists in Nigeria. On how he makes it
financially, he said, “People love art and patronise us. I have never met
anyone that does not like art. I am surviving with my job and it is paying my
bills. I don’t do any other thing apart
from photography.”
Ndubuisi attended the Niger Delta University,
Bayelsa, where he studied Fine and Applied Arts. At 300 level in school, he
specialised in Photography and Graphic Design. He graduated in 2014. “I love
Arts so much. Art has been of my life,
art has been what I love doing. I draw a lot and that is what led me to the
university to study Fine Arts.”
His role models in art sector are Karly Tailor and
Kelechi Amadi Obi,
He advised the Nigerian youths to improve on
whatever they know how to do. “If you know how to wash clothes, improve on it.
Be the best, people will locate and patronise you.”
A documentary photographer and photo journalist, Mr.
Ralph Eluehike, also a street photographer has been doing photography
professionally for eight years. He partnered with Adigwe whom he has working
with for some time. “If you go through our images, there is some kind of
similarity. We shoot almost alike. Being someone I know and feel I can work
with, we both decided to hold the exhibition since we have couple of good works
and a project we are working on. We were motivated by a good friend of ours,
Mr. Jess, who encouraged us till now.”
The titles of Eluehike’s works are divided into
three, namely: “Domestic Work: Lights and Shadows; Where we live and Deception.” “Domestic Work: Lights and Shadows , as the
name implies, I am trying to bring to limelight what goes on in homes, to let
them know that there are some persons in homes who do work, by the end of the
day, they suffer seriously. They are neglected, not well catered for, some of
them actually go through series of violence including rape. If they tell their
pains and the horror they encounter, you will know that many things are
happening at homes. I showcased them with images staged and some not staged. In
one of the images, two young ladies were standing with a covering on their
heads. There is a rope tied with two clothes on them. These two girls symbolise
domestic workers. It shows how humiliated they are. The covering of their faces
depict that they have ideas and dreams that are impeded and blocked. They have
hurdles to cross to achieve their dreams but their ideas have been captured by
individuals who are more powerful than them in terms of social status.
“Where We Live is a series, talking more about poverty
in the midst of abundance. Irrespective of the degree of affluence in the
nation, some persons are suffering deeply. Go to the creeks and some rural
areas and see how horrible where they live is, no hospitals, some of the
children don’t go to school because there is no school there. Some even live on
top the water. These persons have no voice, nobody cares about them. The little
we artists can do is to use our images to bring to limelight what happens in
these places, at the same time, pass the message to the government with hope
that these images will touch the minds of those who have the ability to come
their aids.
“In some of the images titled Deception, some of
their bodies were covered which mirrors what life is in general. In everything
you want to do or know in life, there are some factors that hide certain things
from you. It is political and social. People or things can hinder you from
knowing some things, nobody knows everything.”
Eluehike hails from Umunede, Ika North East Local
Government Area, Delta State. graduated from Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma,
Edo State in 2007. He studied Geophysics.
Thereafter, he got a certificate in Creative New
Media from School of Media and Communication, Lagos Business School, Pan
Atlantic University, Ajah, Lagos, through a scholarship awarded to him by
Samsung Electronics. According to him, love for images inspired him to go into
photography. “When I see images, I adore them, from there, I became creative
with graphics and later delved into photography. I find joy in doing
photography.”
He stressed that he is not motivated by money, but
by passion and love for photography. “Money is secondary to me. What pulled me
in is passion and love for photography. There is money in photography but you
have to do your best and be different from others. Before now, I had many
things on my mind to do as my career but after my encounter with photography, I
felt satisfied.”
In the next five years, Eluehike sees himself
touring round the world, exhibiting his work. “I see myself in New York, London,
Paris, Germany and other cities of the world showcasing my work to people,
especially, those who appreciate artworks.”
His role models are George Oshodi, Uche Iroha and
Kelechi Amadi Obi. “Their images really encouraged me to do photography.”
“Do what you are meant to do and do it the best way
you can” is his philosophy of life.
Eluehike reads novels when he is not working. He
appealed to the government in local, state and federal levels to encourage
photographers, stressing that, “We help to bring out what is happening in the
bedrock of the society to the surface. We relate with people and transmit their
opinions, pains and worries in form of images to the government.”
The exhibition ended on Friday, November 11,
2015.
No comments:
Post a Comment