Exploring globalisation and African identity: "Ethnoscapes", by Ade Adekola
The Challenger, from Icons of a Metropolis
We first encountered the distinctive work of Nigerian-born, San Francisco Bay Area-based photographer and conceptual artist Ade Adekola a few months ago when we stumbled upon his "Icons of a Metropolis" series, a striking set of 20 photographic images of Lagos archetypes - the oil scavenger, the cart pusher, the scrap merchant, the street vendor, the traffic policeman, etc. - that strongly convey the spirit of Lagos (the cultural and economic capital of Nigeria) and address the issues of urban creativity. You can download a free ebook of the series in PDF format HERE.
After the treaty at Château de Versailles, from Ethnoscapes (All images below are from this series)
He has now extended Icons of a Metropolis to create a similarly striking series he calls "Ethnoscapes", this time exploring the issue of globalisation and identity. In the series, Ade superimposes portrait of Lagosians, shot in Lagos, over backdrops of American, Asian or European cities to create hybrid environmental portraits. The juxtaposition of foreground and background creates a space in the middle-ground where perception is heightened, and the images hint at polarising tensions, the paradoxes of identity and the consumption homogeneity.
Alberto the trainer at Avia, Basel
There are 1.4 million African-born individuals living in America, and another 4.6 to 8 million living in Europe. The juxtaposition emphasises contrast of person and environment, thus forcing us to ponder the effect of adapting to a "foreign" environment on the identity of these millions when they do as the Romans do and blend in. But we know full well that not all Africans in Europe and America blend in, so we're also asked to ponder which is more honest, gradually blending in or going out of your way to retain a distinctly African appearance.
Danfo and passengers, downtown Manchester
The easy accessibility of images and information about Europe and America in Africa (via the internet, TV, magazines and film) also raises questions about what effect globalisation is having on the identity of Africans in Africa. Then there's the question of who these spaces "belong" to anyway. The contract between the people and the backdrops may have been deliberately heightened, but the Lagosians look totally comfortable, claiming these spaces by doing their own thing. The contrast, however, also points to the fact that Africans are not generally "allowed" to feel at home in mainstream European or American society until they do blend in.
Waiting groom @ Admiralty Arch, London
Thought-provoking stuff, and these are only a handful of the images from this new series, so if you're at all intrigued by what you're seeing here, visit his Facebook page, the Icons of a Metropolis site and the artist's main site to see the rest of his work.
Gbogbonise (herbalist) at Oxford circus, London
If you're in a buying mood, email him directly at info@adekola.com. He has exhibited in London, Frankfurt, San Francisco, Burlingame and Palo Alto, and his work can be found in private collections in these cities as well as Tokyo, Basel, Paris, New York, Hong Kong, Lagos, Cape Town, Chicago and Seattle.
Craft hawker at the Saatchi Gallery, London
Sirens at the National Gallery, London
Manchester Evening News
O sole mio... punting on the grand canal, Venice
via thisisafrica.me