Written
By
Faida Samuel
Introduction
Adebayo Jolaoso is a Nigerian photographer and visual artist whose practice moves across fine art, intimate portraiture, conceptual fashion, and documentary photography. Born and raised in Lagos, his way of seeing has been shaped by the city’s fast pace. His background in sociology also informs his interest in people, culture, art, identity, and the ways individuals and communities are seen, remembered, and discussed. At the centre of Jolaoso’s practice is a concern with the human experience. Through his photographs, he explores how people inhabit their bodies, express themselves, and negotiate their identities.
His work also reflects a conscious interest in presenting Nigerian and African experiences through images that recognise beauty, dignity, empathy, and joy, while remaining attentive to the complexities of contemporary life. In conversation with Kontemporary Art and Diskuss (KAD), Jolaoso reflects on his artistic journey, his sociological background, and questions of identity and representation. Through his practice, he continues to explore photography not only as a way of making images, but also as a means of understanding art, people, preserving experiences, and creating visual records for future generations.
KAD: You were born and raised in Lagos, a city known for its energy, diversity, and constantly changing social landscape. How has growing up in Lagos shaped your way of seeing, and how does the city continue to influence your photographic practice?
Adebayo Jolaoso: I think Lagos has shaped the way I see things in a lot of ways, but the one that stands out the most is, how fast Lagos has conditioned me to be in relation to how I see images and capture a moment. Lagos is very fast-paced; everything is happening all at once and if you don’t look close and fast enough and also react fast enough, you will lose the image. Now I’m not saying this is ideal, sometimes this has a negative side to it as you are so focused on getting the image fast that you don’t take time to enjoy and build up to the moment. Lagos in a way has conditioned me to react like I’m surviving versus living. So, I guess I’m trying to find my balance.
KAD: You were formally trained as a sociologist before pursuing a career in visual art and photography. What inspired this transition, and how has your background in sociology influenced the way you think, create, and interpret the world through photography?
Adebayo Jolaoso: In terms of the transition, I have always done photography, even before I
went to university. I didn’t do it artistically or professionally but I was an enthusiast who couldn’t wait to get his hands on a real camera. In terms of sociology informing my photography practice. I would say that sociology has taught me how to be conscious, aware of my environment, individual and group behavior, culture and its evolving status, and how we identify and how we see ourselves. I studied a few development theories in university that helped me to develop an empathy and deeper affection for us as a people, who we are, who we are becoming, and all that we can be. Over the years, my artistic eye and sensitivity have grown and I have become more aware of my environment, and people around me. This has informed how I see, create and appreciate photography as an artistic medium.
KAD: A recurring theme in your practice is identity, how people inhabit their bodies, present themselves, and are seen or remembered by others. What draws you to these questions, and how do you use photography to explore the relationship between selfhood, identity, and representation?
Adebayo Jolaoso: There has been a long history of people telling and documenting our stories for us. When it’s properly done, that in itself isn’t a bad thing, but a member of a society or group telling our stories and also being innovative with how we see ourselves is just a different feeling entirely. From 2015 to 2018, there was an online magazine boom in Africa and Nigeria specifically; the scene was vibrant and had a lot of potential. However, there was a lot of misrepresentation as well as, a representation that didn’t really seek our beauty but made it seem like, we were objects of fetishes. Yes, poverty is a huge problem of Nigeria, but exploiting people’s inadequate environments and unhealthy living conditions felt unfair to me and that has inspired me to approach my work from a place of empathy, black joy, beauty and elegance. I want to uplift our image. Images have power, they are sometimes the first encounter people have with a group and I believe in putting your best foot forward. This is not to say that, the dark side does not exist and we shouldn’t have conversations about it and how to change and make things better as well.
KAD: Your exhibition A Language of Motion explores movement and gesture as forms of communication, with the body functioning as a medium of expression. What does movement allow you to communicate that a still portrait or conventional representation of the figure may not?
Adebayo Jolaoso: Movement is fundamental to how we live and exist as humans, individually and collectively. Basically, movement is life, its importance cannot be overemphasised. It carries emotion, gesture, ritual, dance, and the overt and covert body language that are different across cultures. It is one of the ways we understand ourselves and each other. While conventional portraits can reveal incredible detail, from a person’s features to the texture of their skin, they can also feel carefully controlled. Introduce wind, music, or the freedom to move, and something shifts. The body begins to communicate in unexpected ways, and the photograph holds the trace of a living moment. That tension between stillness and motion is at the heart of A Language of Motion.
A Language of Motion began as a personal challenge, how can a still photograph convey movement? I became fascinated by the paradox of capturing something fleeting, almost like trying to capture lightning in a bottle. I wanted to see how that same sense of energy and unpredictability could exist within a single frame. When I was developing the project, I realised I had been exploring this idea long before I had words for it. Looking through my archive, I found photographs that already embodied the work I thought I needed to make. That discovery became a lesson in restraint; I started learning to trust what already existed and allowing it to shape what came next.
KAD: Between 2018 and 2024, you photographed Lagos Fashion Week, GTCO Fashion Weekend, and Arise Fashion Week, eventually producing a self-published photobook from this experience. What attracted you to the spaces behind the runway, and what did you discover about fashion culture by documenting its backstage moments, labour, rituals, and relationships?
Adebayo Jolaoso: My curiosity about the intersection points between art and commerce is what drew me towards photographing what happens backstage, rather than what we see on the runway. I never really knew what to expect each year, there were always new faces, designers, personalities and emotions, but I was curious to experience the creativity, labour and intensity that existed before the show. I also wanted to create art because I’m a strong believer of art being everywhere you look. Therefore, the commercial side of fashion is about consumption, ideas of buying and selling, while the artistic side is rooted in passion, creativity and expression. But between the two is a human side that is often unseen: the chaos, excitement, exhaustion, labour and anticipation that go into producing the polished final product. My work, and eventually the book, became a window into that world. I was interested in the people and emotions that often disappear once the lights come on. That’s ultimately where the art and something intangible exists. I captured happiness, stress, labour and all the nuanced emotions that sit behind the people we encounter in fashion. Ultimately, the work became less about fashion itself and more about people, how they inhabit these spaces, work within them, and contribute to what we eventually consume. It is a gritty, honest and empathetic project that I hope allows people to appreciate not just the art, but the humanity and labour behind it.
KAD: Your practice moves between constructed and observational approaches to photography. How do you balance planning and spontaneity when making an image and what do you look for in those unexpected gestures, expressions, and interactions that give a photograph its emotional truth?
Adebayo Jolaoso: Honestly, I don’t think there is a ratio to how I balance things. Some things you approach with a specific mindset, composition and overall vision and sometimes you approach things with absolutely no idea whatsoever on what you are going to create. The interesting thing is that, you might have a plan and then when making the work, something shifts, something you can’t quantify or replicate, but it’s there and everyone can see it, this sometimes means all
your plans go out the window. Obviously, lighting, other technical skills and experience of the years will ultimately inform your style and process but it shouldn’t stop you from letting unpredictability win. Humans are incredibly unpredictable; we feel things that make us react and sometimes that reaction is quick and can never be replicated again. So, I wait, I wait to receive that moment after capturing all that I can capture and what is expected, I wait for that moment to happen. This doesn’t mean it happens all the time, some projects are pretty straightforward and you barely get anything like what I just described.
KAD: Your practice moves across art, portraiture, fashion, and documentary photography. How do you negotiate these different photographic spaces, and do you see them as distinct practices or as interconnected ways of exploring people, culture, beauty, and contemporary Nigerian life?
Adebayo Jolaoso: This is a very good question, thank you for asking me this. I strongly believe that a lot of creative endeavours are interdisciplinary. It’s very possible to learn something from a completely different field that eventually becomes instrumental to the work you are doing. Photography is a good example. You could photograph a plant in a random place and notice how the sunlight hits it, the colours it creates, or how it occupies space. You can then take that knowledge and apply it to a portrait in the studio, or even look for that same quality of light and experiment with it. Of course, you have to understand the context of whatever you are creating around and give it the respect and care it deserves. But I think they all have a meeting point. For me, that meeting point is the artist, my vision, my curiosity, and years of trying different things. As an artist, I believe this is where art becomes sociological, we are constantly absorbing from our people, institutions and surroundings, and eventually all those experiences come together as a form of creative expression.
KAD: As your practice continues to evolve, what questions, themes, or visual possibilities are currently occupying your attention? What kind of contribution do you hope your photography will make to the way contemporary Nigerian lives, identities, and experiences are documented and remembered?
Adebayo Jolaoso: Honestly speaking, in terms of ideas and themes, I’m opening myself up to the world and to people to learn. I’m being attentive to myself and to what I feel, and I’m not overly trying to force myself to explore one particular concept or theme. I’m still interested in themes of identity, contemporary Nigeria, and the juxtaposition of unrelated elements within a photograph to create something new. When I think about how I would like my work to be viewed years from now, I hope it creates room for curiosity and nostalgia, while also allowing people to simply enjoy it visually because the works are beautiful. I hope my photographs can be a gateway to other mediums, like music and poetry. I hope they leave a feeling with people that they can take home from wherever they encounter the work, and perhaps become curious about what that feeling is and where it comes from. In terms of documenting contemporary Nigerian lives, I hope my works to contribute to; Nigerian culture, to the conversation, and to the history of Nigerian and African art. I also hope to inspired and leave some new knowledge for the next generation of artists about what we have created, how we did it, and why we did it. I hope our work can serve as blueprints for where new works can begin. Most importantly, I hope we can be proven wrong about where we thought creativity ended, that perhaps what we thought was a full stop was only a comma. I hope our work reminds the generations that come after us that we mattered, that we were here, and that we created evidence of competence, imagination, and measurable progress.
