J. D. 'Okhai Ojeikere

Johnson Donatus Aihumekeokhai Ojeikere (10 June 1930 – 2 February 2014), known as J.D. 'Okhai Ojeikere, was a Nigerian photographer known for his work with unique hairstyles found in Nigeria.

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. At the end of 1953, they finally replied that they had received Ojeikere's request, and it caught their attention.

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.

Legacy On Ojeikere's death, he left behind an archive of well over 10,000 photographs of his home country Nigeria.

His photography covers show how the hairstyles are seen as artistic, cultural, material, and social process, forming part of the unfolding African postcolonial modernity. The term used for many of the hairstyles he documented is "Onile-Gogoro", a Yoruba expression meaning "stand tall", which term was used to refer to the multi-storey buildings then sprouting in Nigerian cities and was popularized through the music that defined the language and social movements of the 1960s. The titles of Ojeikere's photographs are also often quite literal.

Ojeikere is most recognized for the black-and-white shots of elaborate, gravity-defying Nigerian hairstyles that he started photographing in the 1950s, which were presented at the 2013 Venice Biennale. Yet, as one of the first photojournalists in Nigeria, having lived from 1930 through the country's independence in 1960, military dictatorships, and village and city life, his perspective was much wider than fashion.

Publications J.D.'Okhai Ojeikere: Photographs. Zürich: Scalo, 2000. Edited by Andre Magnin. .

Collections Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL: 1 print (as of August 2020) Museum of Modern Art, New York: 3 pairs of prints (as of August 2020) Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: prints (as of August 2020) Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston, Texas: 13 prints (as of August 2020)

Exhibitions Solo exhibitions

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

Group exhibitions 2000: Africa: Past-Present, Fifty-One Fine Art Photography, Antwerp 2001: Face Off, Aeroplastics Contemporary, Brussels 2002: Collection in Context – Recent Photography Acquisitions, The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, USA 2003: Highlights from the collection of Foundation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris: William Eggleston, Beat Streuli, Bill Viola, Vik Muniz, J.D. ‘Okhai Ojeikere, Pierrick sorin, Bildmuseet Umea Universitett, Umea, Sweden 2004: Joy of Life – two photographers from Africa: Seydou Keita, J.D. ‘Okhai Ojeikere, Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan 2004: Nous Remontons de la "Calle" Toutes les Photographies!, Galerie du Jour Agnés B., Paris, France 2004: La collection d'art contemporain d'Agnès b. Je m'installe aux Abattoirs, Les Abattoirs – Frac Midi-Pyrénées, Toulouse, France 2005: Masterpieces from the Jean Pigozzi Collection, MFAH Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Houston, TX, USA 2006: 100% Africa, Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Spain 2006: About Africa Part One: Seydou Keita, Malick Sidbé, Jean-Dominque Burton, Jürgen Schadeberg, J. D. ‘Okhai Ojeikere, Fifty-One Fine Art Photography, Antwerp, Belgium. 2006: Some Tribes, Christophe Guye Galerie, Zurich, Switzerland 2008: Head Room, Mocca – Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, Toronto, ON 2009: Chance Encounters, Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai 2009: 70s. Photography and Everyday Life, Teatro Fernan Gomez, PHotoEspaña, Madrid, Spain (catalogue ) 2009: 70s. Photography and Everyday Life, Museo D’Arte Provincia di Nuoro, Nuoro, Italy (catalogue ) 2009: J. D. 'Okhai Ojeikere and Malick Sidibe: Hairdos and Parties- African Typologies, L. Parker Stephenson Photographs, New York, USA 2010: 70s. Photography and Everyday Life, Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporaneo, Seville, Spain (catalogue ) 2010: 70s. Photography and Everyday Life, Nederlands Fotomuseum, Rotterdam, Netherlands (catalogue ) 2010: A Midsummer Gallery Soirée, Hagedorn Foundation Gallery, Atlanta, GA, USA 2010: AIPAD – The Photography Show, L. Parker Stephenson Photographs, Park Avenue Armory, New York, USA 2010: National Black Arts Festival, Atlanta, GA, USA 2011: Becoming: Photographs from the Wedge Collection, Tate Modern, London, England 2012: Africa/Africa, Abbaya St. André, Centre d'art contemporain de Meymac, Meymac, France 2013: Voyage Retour – Federal Government Press, Broad Street, Lagos, Lagos Island, Nigeria 2013: The Encyclopedic Palace curated by Massimiliano Gioni, The Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy 2014: Back to Front, Mariane Ibrahim Gallery, Seattle, USA 2014: Ici l'Afrique, Château de Penthes, Pregny-Chambésy, France 2015: Making Africa - A Continent of Contemporary Design, Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein, Germany 2016: Regarding Africa: Contemporary Art and Afro-Futurism, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, Israel 2020: Through an African Lens: Sub-Saharan Photography from the Museum's Collection, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston, Texas