He saw something more than hair

J.D. Okhai Ojeikere was one of Nigeria’s earliest documentary photographers. Starting out in the 1950s, he worked as a darkroom assistant for years. Shortly after independence, he became a photographer with Nigeria’s first television station, Western Nigerian Broadcasting Services in 1961.  Foto Ojeikere was born, thereafter. In 1968, Ojeikere began collating material for what will become his most popular exhibition, Hairstyles.

Hairstyles with its thousands of images spans more than four decades and shows the change in style among Nigerian women. Included in the wealth of these black and white images are close-up shots of women donning hairdos such as local threading, intrinsic cornrows, and elaborate headgear. A few examples of his photographed hairstyles such as Agaracha (one who travels must come back) and Onile Gogoro(skyscraper) embodied the meaning behind their names and social class.

Ojeikere’s work is as recognizable as the places he has exhibited. His images have been viewed in major galleries in Chicago, London, New York, Paris, and Switzerland. Contemporary Art Curator, Bisi Silva considers the thousands of vintage to modern images contained in Hairstyles as a love letter to Nigeria. Its historic and anthropologic significance make it relevant even in today’s contemporary art scene. Some of the images from Hairstyles were on exhibition last weekend during the first West African international art fair, Art X Lagos.

J.D. Okhai Ojeikere died on February 2, 2014 at the age of 83, leaving behind a legacy to cherish. Apart from Hairstyles, there are more subjects of Ojeikere’s camera lens. He documented urban landscapes during the 1990s; Lagos in particular, before it became the bustling city as we know it today. There was also campus photography as Ojeikere photographed the contrast of university students with the facilities’ architecture.

Documentary photography in Nigeria is a lot different now from when Ojeikere proactively presented himself to the Ministry of Information as a documentary photographer. There are creative initiatives such as the ongoing Lagos Photo Festival and Fati Abubakar’s Bits of Borno. Even though these images are more colorful with higher image definitions, images by Ojeikere continue to be sought after and admired.