Ebunoluwa Akinbo: ‘Days of Dorcas Made Me Stronger’

POSTED IN Art, Art history, Culture, Digital art, Photography

The photographer and graduate of Sociology talks about her career, her experience at Art635’s recently-concluded Days of Dorcas Photography Workshop and her plans for the future in an interview with Adefoyeke Ajao

Before I went into [photography] as a profession, I knew I loved taking pictures.

Sometimes you just have to dress very nicely, not because you have somewhere serious to go to, but because you want to take pictures. And then, with the advent of social media, you just want to post something nice. At some point after graduation and NYSC, when I was looking for a job and I couldn’t get one, I decided to look inwards and with the help of God, I decided to take photography more seriously.

I didn’t have any form of professional training photography-wise – we are just getting to have that in Nigeria. I would say I am self-taught, but the truth is that I have been able to gather the knowledge of professionals and it has really helped me. Even if I learnt on YouTube, it’s still a professional – someone who knows the art – that I have learnt from. I have not been to a proper institute where the training will actually last for a year or two. However, with knowledge from Days of Dorcas, and a few other workshops that I attended previously, I’ve been able to gather a whole lot of knowledge that I penned down in my big photography book. I go through it every time and I try to practise what I’ve learnt while thinking of new ideas also.

I’ve had other workshops that I would call my foundation, but Days of Dorcas made me stronger. I really did not have to look down on myself because the truth is it brought out the real me. My highest peak at Days of Dorcas was when we were told that “see, you haven’t even started. If you think you are taking a fine girl’s picture, that’s not photography at all, that’s not being artistic, that’s not even any form of creativity; creativity has to come from within. Fine, you can copy, but then you can also create something new from copying”. The facilitators and organisers really did well. It was really awesome and I am forever grateful to GTBank and Art 635.

Although I didn’t win [first prize at] Days of Dorcas, the workshop made me stronger. It taught me that I still have more to do. That I didn’t win at Days of Dorcas did not mean that I couldn’t win elsewhere; it simply meant that I had much more serious work to do. I won the 2018 Fashola Photography Foundation Prize shortly after attending Days of Dorcas, but I know that I still have a lot of work to do.

Since the workshop ended, I have kept in touch with a number of my colleagues. We discuss one another’s progress, and then sometimes some people call for advice or ask us to check out their new projects. My friend in Jos, Aguhnfi [Aguhnfi Faith Balanku] has been inviting me over to do some interesting work with her. But then, you have to plan before you embark on such a journey. I and my Days of Dorcas colleagues have an awesome relationship and even during the workshop, a lot of us were already sharing ideas. It didn’t seem like a competition, but it was more like a platform for female photography to really gain its ground in Africa at large.

As an aspiring photographer in Nigeria, the number one challenge is that Nigeria itself does not really recognise photography yet; although it’s gaining ground. August 19th was
World Photography Day and I and a few people went on a photo walk at Obalende where we educated a few people. I feel the onus is on photographers to create a foundation for people to appreciate photography and make it strong. For instance, I was telling someone how it would be better if photographers actually went back to the subjects of their documentary and street photography projects to give them their pictures. We would gain more trust and people will [sic] understand us better. Even if they don’t understand what a photographer is doing, they will give them due respect. I’m very sure that in the nearest future photographers will be much respected in Nigeria.

I remember one time I went to Ghana for a programme and I did a personal street photography project on my own. I was a bit scared because it was a strange land, but then I realised that it’s everywhere that women with cameras are a strange sight and a few people even want to exploit you for taking pictures in public. If you are a female photographer, you get to hear something like, “ah, you are a woman. See how small you are, you are carrying this big machine”. Female photographers are usually outnumbered by their male counterparts, but then I respect the male photographers a lot and refer to all of them as ‘bosses’.

Female photographers are also doing well; we have the likes of TY Bello, Adeola Olagunju and Yetunde Ayeni-Babaeko. Once you can defeat the challenges from the mind, you really do not care again, so far you know that what you are doing is right. Female photographers have to challenge the cliché that they are in a profession that society has attached to the male gender.

For now, my work has not been exhibited publicly but I attend portfolio reviews because I need curators to see my work and correct me. They will eventually curate my work, but the portfolio reviews are for them to correct me so that I can be really sure if I am on the right path or not. Hopefully, I’ll have an exhibition in the nearest future.

 

Ebun Akinbo

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