Tranquility

The Elements of the Sublime

These are images I took as a form of continuation from my last project, which placed emphasis on a fictional space and finding comfort within loneliness.

A eulogy of the specific that represents all and sundry, A universal human, A place of the sublime.

Our orientation and sense of well-being is dependent upon an unfathomable concept of serenity.

The horizon line is like an optical abstraction. A skyline that exists but doesn’t. The sheer beauty and appreciation at the sight of a void, split in the middle by a line of alignment. This is a figment of the spiritual.

Oceans where feet may fail, Oniru beach 2021

Paradise became a fiction whilst Isolative reality began to set in, freedom became an illusion, my room became the enigma I was yet to crack.

At times it felt like I was lost at sea, my bed became a chain anchor slowly restraining me from gaining any form of creative positivity.

Finding a sense of purpose within my physical confinement allowed me to project such emotional distress unto objects or emotional focused activities as a form of coping mechanism.

Caspar David Frederich

The Wanderer above Sea Fog (1817)

Majority of the time I tend to capture images from behind focusing on the character’s blindspot placing much more emphasis on the character’s and surrounding elements.

Having based my work on identity it leaves a breeds curiosity but it lets you enjoy the beauty within the unknown.

The narrative captured within this image is like a calm distant foggy memory that allows the viewer to travel with the artist in this case Caspar David Frederich, through all that fog and haziness. 

The composition captivates the attention of the viewer to question certain elements within my photographs, for example in the image titled ( The Lost Wanderer), There has been a lot of questions in regard to why the character decided to run? Why run towards the ocean rather than the shore?

What is he after or is he trying to escape from an irrefutable fate? Why is a black man clothed in white clothing, is there something deeper than the image is letting on? This is a reflective piece which pulls your attention onto the frozen horizon.

The Lost Wanderer

Clinging onto hope.

Taking elements such as colour and light from Casper David Frederich and Hiroshi Sugimoto, the sun is the primary source. The cloud and fog seem to be diffusing the light, meaning it is not a strong and direct light like the midday sun on a clear day.

This is considered to be a “good” light to shoot and paint under, as it provides enough light for you to clearly see all the colours but not so much to wash out the colours.

In actual reality the colour white is known as the colour of peace, purity, innocence and simplicity.

I felt the colour white helped to virtually push the notion that the character was running from issues much bigger than oneself, A literal symbolism of a fresh start. 

In my modern day reality it represents a country (Nigeria) that runs in circles around its problem rather than face it head on.

There is the migration, freedom and slavery aspect to this idea of the sublime which I touched on in my university sketchbooks but for now this is all I am letting on , if you are interested in art and migration take a look at John Akomfrah’s work but as for me Till next time.

Thank You for reading.

Cinematography

A Visual representation of African storytelling in Streetwear culture

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Brother Hold on, Brother hold unto hope..

Do you want to be a Photographer?

Why do you want to be a photographer and what do you want to say with photography?

A lot of people think their way is the right way but is there really a right way to do art?

At first I started taking images last year February because I wanted to venture into a new art medium after my failed attempt at hyper-realism. Actually I lacked the patience & I found shooting images through the eye of streetwear quite interesting and relatable.

When put into consideration my generation are the pioneers of the new streetwear culture but I often always asked myself what would I bring into this game that is not already been done.

That is something you should definitely think about if you do want to come out as a unique character because at this point photography is getting saturated.

Yes, people would have critical oppinions about your work but at the end of the day art is made to spark a series of dialogues from different perspectives not just your narrowed one man oppinionated view, so I love critics, I love feedbacks but do not let the critics get to you negatively because that's where you will begin to fail yourself.

I can attempt to stay on the fence.

However, the problem is that the fence is a figment of my fear not a reality of my journey.

- Craig D. Lounbrough

I felt lost in a foreign country, so I chose to seek solace within my craft.

Having lived in the UK for a couple years, I felt that I needed to approach art in a different manner.

When I took this image I felt a sense of entanglement to my roots because I haven’t been to Lagos, Nigeria in two years but within my craft I felt the need to speak on the current situations without being brutally obvious with my plot.

My recent images are new art expressions which contains a deeper dramatical story, self empowerment & an African approach into streetwear.

“An Artist’s duty, as far as I’m concerned ,is to reflect the times.”

— Nina Simone

So how do we tell stories with imagery that reflect the times, now that is something we all develop over time but the way we tell stories would differ between individuals because we all get influenced by various things.

Personally I get my inspiration from movies, other streetwear photographers , African cinematographers and music (every song projects a mood).

The way you display these moods using poses, clothing, colour palettes and finally the colour grade brings everything together to make the viewer feel those emotions the artist or photographer is trying to portray.

*You may not be the best right now but you are the best to a certain group of people and this is how you build your first audience. **

So mate, Do not stress, there is an audience out there for everyone.

Where my colour grading process began

This was an image I took in Manchester in the bitter cold of winter 2019.

When it comes to cinematography and colour grades.

Top-boy has had a lot of inspiration in the way I colour grade my images.

Why? as you already know I lived all life my in Lagos, Nigeria up till when I was 15, then I moved to the UK straight after my GCSE.

I felt the need to showcase the warm and colourful climate from Africa and the feeling of the cold climatic factors we feel in the UK.

Migrating from an African country into the UK has inspired me to be an artist that is neither conformed by both African and Westernised culture but rather try to inculcate them visually and idealistically.

Personally I was not satisfied by the deep green pigment, I wanted the colour to be visible but also not visible( I know you don't understand my last statement but keep reading), I wanted a colour grade that blends with all skin colour but also help glorify the beauty of having a melanined skin.

Cinema inspirations

Critically speaking how would you describe this image in the comments below?

The pros & cons of working with friends

Okay True Story, apparently a friend of mine loved my work and wanted to create content because he had seen the work I had done for someone else in the friendship group (deep this it was not like I was close with this guy).

So I agreed and I was like yeah tell me what your budget is like(Ps always put a business foot forward if you do want to get paid)because a lot of these people that be in my emails & dm’s be feeling like they are entitled to free work because they asked politely or because they just happen to have more followers than me.

Put this at the back of your mind, only do free work if the job interests you and if it’s a beneficial work to your portfolio or an opportunity to learn new things.

So apparently now, he got angry because I charged him even though we kinda barely knew each other. When people pop up and compliment you but still request services for free.

The way I see it, they recognise your skills and artistry but they don’t think your services are worth paying for.

To be continued......

Personally I have had reviews to create audio visual contents instead of blogs,In the comments below would you still read a blog in this age and time?