Born 1930, Ojomu Emai, Nigeria.
Lives and works in Ketou, Nigeria.

J.D. ‘Okai Ojeikere was raised in rural Southwestern Nigeria in a village where photography was an exotic luxury. In 1950, he bought a modest Brownie D camera, and a neighbour taught him the rudiments of photography. In 1951 he began to seek work from the Ministry of Information in Ibadan, repeatedly sending the same letter: “I would be very grateful if you would use me for any kind of work in your photographic department.” His persistence paid off in 1954, when he was offered a position as a darkroom assistant. Just as Nigeria was shedding colonial rule in 1961, he became a still photographer for Televison House Ibadan, a division of the Western Nigerian Broadcasting Services, the first television station in Africa. Jazz musician Steve Rhodes was director of programming and Ojeikere has recalled the spirit of the time: “Just after independence, we were full of ideas and energy. We were going to conquer the world.” In 1963 he moved to Lagos to work for West Africa Publicity.

In 1967 he joined the Nigerian Arts Council, and during their festival of the following year he began to take series of photographs dedicated to Nigerian culture. This body of work, now consisting of thousands of images, has become a unique anthropological, ethnographic, and documentary national treasure. Most African photographers of his generation only worked on commission; this project, unique in its genre, flourished without any commercial support. The Hairstyle series, which consists of close to a thousand photographs, is the largest and the most thorough segment of Ojeikere’s archive. “To watch a ‘hair artist’ going through his precise gestures, like an artist making a sculpture, is fascinating. Hairstyles are an art form,” Ojeikere has commented. He photographs hairstyles every day in the street, in offices, at parties. He records each subject systematically: from the rear, sometimes in profile, and occasionally head-on. Those from the rear are almost abstract and best reveal the sculptural aspect of the hairstyles. For Ojeikere, this is a never ending project as hairstyles evolve with fashion: “All these hairstyles are ephemeral. I want my photographs to be noteworthy traces of them. I always wanted to record moments of beauty, moments of knowledge. Art is life. Without art, life would be frozen.”

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS



2005
15 April – 28 April
Hairstyles
Maison de France
Lagos - Nigeria

2005
15 Jan – 5 March
Hairstyles
Blaffer Gallery
Houston - USA

2002
5/05/02 - 02/06/02
Hairstyles
Wedge Gallery
Toronto - Canada

2001
J.D. ‘Okhai Ojeikere
MAMCO
Genève - Suisse

2000
05/04/00 - 28/05/00
J.D. ‘Okhai Ojeikere
Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain.
Paris - France

1996
03/02/96 - 16/02/96
Nigerian Traditional Hairstyle
Goethe-Institut Lagos
Lagos - Nigeria

1995
J.D. ‘Okhai Ojeikere
National Arts Council
Lagos - Nigeria

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2012/2013
Sept 18 - July 14 2013
Cheveux Chéris, Quai Branley, Paris

2012
Portraits et Identités - The Walther Collection - Burlafingen, Allemagne

Drawing Now - Salon du dessin contemporain, Magnin-A - Paris, France

2011
Nov 10 - 13
Paris Photo, Grand Palais
Artur Walther Collection

Art Paris Art Fair - Magnin-A Paris - Grand Palais, France

ARS 11` - Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art - Helsinki, Finland

2010/2011
17 novembre 2010 - 15 mai 2011
The Global African Project, Museum of Arts and Design, NY

2010
A life in Pictures - Lagos, Nigeria

African Stories - Marrakech Art Fair, Magnin-A - Marrakech, Maroc

Anos 70, Fotografia y vida cotidiana - Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporaneo - Seville, Espagne

2007
Oct 2 - Oct 21 2007
Art & about
City of Sydnry
Sydney - Australie

2007
16 juin-23 septembre
Documenta 12
Kassel-Germany

2006
12 Oct- 18 fév. 2007
100% Africa
Guggenheim Museum
Bilbao, Espagne

2006
29 May – 31 July
Vive l’Afrique
Galérie du Jour – Agnès b.
Tokyo - Japon

2006
March
About Africa, part one
Fifty One Fine Art Photography
Antwerp, Belgium

2005-2006
18 Nov – 26 Feb..
Arts of Africa
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of African Art
Washington, DC. - USA

2005
16 July – 4 sept.
Arts of Africa
Grimaldi Forum
Monaco

2005
7 June – 30 July
Vive l’Afrique
Galerie du Jour – Agnès b.
Paris - France

2005
29 Jan – 8 May
African Art Now : Masterpieces from the Jean Pigozzi Collection
Museum of Fine Arts Houston
Houston - USA

2004-2005
22 Oct – 9 Jan
kurzdavordanach
Photographischen Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur
Mediapark
Köln - Allemagne

2004
09 April-13 June
Je m’installe aux abattoirs
La collection d’art contemporain d’agnès b.
Les Abattoirs
Toulouse - France

2004
11/02 – 11/04
Joy of Life –
Malick Sidibé and Ojeikere,
Two Photographers from Africa
Hara Museum
Tokyo - Japan

2003-2004
25/09/03 – 11/07/04
Parures de tête
Musée Dapper
Paris - France

2003-2004
14 Nov – 10 Jan
Nous Remontons de la “Calle” Toutes les Photographies
Galerie du Jour agnès b.
Paris - France

2003
18/06/03 - 25/08/03
Fables de l’identité
Œuvres photographiques et vidéos de la collection NSM Vie/ABN AMRO
CNP, Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild
Paris - France

2001
6/02/01 - 11/03/01
J.D’ Okhai Ojeikere
Galeria DV
San Sebastian - Espagne

2001
01/02/01 - 29/02/01
Century City : art and culture in the modern metropolis
Tate Modern
Londre - Grande Bretagne

2000
Africa Inside
Noorderlicht 2000 photofestival
Fries Museum
Leeuwarden - Pays-Bas.

2000
Africa: Past-Present
Fifty one Fine art photography
Anvers - Belgique

2000
La Beauté in fabula
Palais des Papes
Avignon - France

1995
Nigerian Contemporary Art
World International Property Art, WIPO Genève - Suisse

1995
08/09/95 - 18/09/95
1st National Creativity Exhibition
National Theatre
Lagos - Nigeria

1983
«Ten top Photographers »
National Museum
Lagos - Nigeria

1978
Photography in Advertising
50th Anniversary of Lintas Limited
Lagos - Nigeria

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

2006
100% Africa
Exhibition catalogue. Published by TF Editores & FMGB Guggenheim Bilbao Museum.

2005
Africa Art Now: Masterpieces from the Jean Pigozzi Collection
Exhibition catalogue. Editeur : Merrell en association avec la MFAH.

2005
L’art africain contemporain
Christophe Domino, André Magnin. Editions SCALA.

2004
Kurzdavordanach. Gedenwart als Zwischenraum
Exhibition catalogue. By Wilhelm Schürmann and Susanne Lange. Editions Revolver Books.

2003
Parures de tête : Hairstyles and headdresses
Catalogue d’exposition. Editions Dapper.

2001
Century City : art and culture in the modern metropolis
Catalogue d’exposition. Tate Modern. Editions Tate. Pg 56.

2000
J. D Okhai Ojeikere Photographies
Edition André Magnin. Publication la Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain.
Livre en français ou en anglais.

2000
La Beauté
Catalogue d’exposition. Palais des Papes. Avignon, France. P.108-109. Editions Flammarion.

2000
16/09/00 - 22/10/00
Africa inside
J. D Ojeikere p.73-78. Noorderlicht. Publié par Stichting Aurora Borealis

1996
Nigerian Traditional Hairstyles
Catalogue d’exposition. Goethe-Institut, Lagos.