A Photography Studio Visit Hosted by Amanda Iheme
Focus on Four was curated by G.A.S. resident, Amanda Iheme, with the aim of sharing the Foundation's platform and audience with photographers practicing in Lagos. It spotlighted the work of Alexander "Lex Ash" Ashimole, Laura Osare, Nengi Nelson, and Ọlájídé Ayẹni, and dived deep into their creative processes, articulating distinct narratives through the lenses of urban and personal identity.
In this forum, the Lagos-based photographers introduced the audience to their respective photographic practices, which interrogate aesthetic explorations of form and space, urban environments, and personal and collective identities. In the leadup to the studio visit, the participating photographers, who were selected by Amanda via an open call, benefitted from virtual mentoring sessions to strengthen their vocabulary in discussing their practice, and develop their capacity to present their work.
EVENT DETAILS
Date: 17th May 2024
Time: 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Location: G.A.S. Foundation, 9b, Hakeem Dickson Drive, off TF Kuboye Road, Oniru, Lagos.
ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHERS
Alexander "Lex Ash" Ashimole
Alexander "Lex Ash" Ashimole is an Estate Management graduate of Covenant University, Nigeria. A Visual artist and musician, Lex's evocative visual content is inspired by human connection and his passion for people. Over his 9 years of photography, his work has been featured on CNN, USA Today, Financial Times, Vogue Italia, and Lightroom, among others. He was nominated for the Future Award prize in Photography, and Best Photographer at the Fashion Finest Africa, and has exhibited in group shows, including at the Africa Photo Festival in New York, The Wheatbaker Hotel, and a McKinsey showcase. In 2020, he was among the photographers listed on YNaija’s 101 Most Influential Nigerians in Fashion and Lifestyle. So far, his work has allowed him to share local stories on international platforms, and he hopes to be a major driving force in the recognition of Art in Nigeria and the wider African continent.
Laura Osare
Laura Ugbegua Osaremeh is a self-taught visual artist from Lagos, Nigeria, who is currently employing photography to create stories that discuss the undercurrents that define our era from a personal point of view. Drawing inspiration from artists such as Nan Goldin, her work is preoccupied with the human condition, specifically the way we exist within a connected social system, serving as a tool to examine collective histories and recollection. Her visual storytelling aims to reveal unfiltered realities and beauty in diverse human experiences, through fluid presentation and constant reflection on her ongoing journey to self-discovery.
Nengi Nelson
Nengi Nelson is a Lagos-based freelance Photographer and filmmaker. Her work interrogates the daily living of Nigerians exploring community stories, individual identity, and social response in public space. Her Photographs have been published by the BBC, Reuters, WhatsApp, Centre for Cooperative Investigative Journalism (CCIJ) etc.
Ọlájídé Ayẹni
Ọlájídé Ayẹni (b. 1994) is a media artist telling stories about the built environment and its relationship with people. Ọlájídé is often preoccupied with documenting urban change, and how it impacts people living and working within sites of action, construction, or destruction. With a background in architecture, Ọlájídé’s work borders within architecture and documentary photography, and is heavily inspired by the urban and built environment through which he highlights different unnoticed, everyday elements. Particularly how these objects, spaces, or structures influence human interaction within a space, and user experience with an object.
Ayeni is an alumnus of the 2018 Canon Storytelling Masterclass led by Georgina Goodwin. His works have been exhibited at the Rasheed Gbadàmosí Èkó Art Expo, 2017, the Canon Alumni Exhibition, African Artists' Foundation, both in 2018, Rele Young Contemporaries Bootcamp, 2021, & the Tirandentes Photography Festival/Rotterdam Photo Festival, 2022. He has been published in Saraba Magazine, PHmuseum, Lost in Lagos, Esquire Korea, Architectural Guide Sub-Saharan Africa, Vol. 3.
ABOUT THE HOST
Amanda Iheme
Amanda Iheme is an architecture photographer living and working in Lagos, Nigeria. Her works are focused on documenting and preserving Nigeria’s architectural heritage and the celebration of its design, history, and culture. Amanda Iheme has been featured in articles for Aesthetica, ArtDaily and ARTnews. The most recent article is Lagos, Glimpsed from Seven Vantages written for The New Yorker in September 2023. Her work has been exhibited in group shows around the world including Museum of Modern Art - New Photography (2023), SMO Contemporary - Dis Lagos Life (2020), ArtX Lagos Curated Projects (2019) - This is Lagos, Lagos Photo Festival - Time Has Gone (2018), Tiwan Tiwa (2018).
She has published her images in The Irin Journal - The Lagos Issue (2019) and The World of Interiors, (April 2022).
This 2023 edition of the G.A.S. Fellowship Award is generously supported by Still Earth Holdings and our Residency Patrons.