Fancy Creatives ~ J.D Okhai Ojeikere – A thousand hairstyles

FANCY loves innovative creatives who push the boundaries of art. Today, the creative spotlight goes to the incredibly talented photographer, J.D Okhai Ojeikere.

Born in the Southwestern part of Nigeria, Ojeikere caught the ‘art bug’ in 1950 when he bought his first camera, a modest Brownie D and got lessons from a neighbour who taught him the rudiments of photography. In 1967 he joined the Nigerian Arts Council and that began his love affair with the rich culture of Nigeria. What especially caught his attention, was the diverse hairstyles that adorned the heads of all the women.

This inspired his ‘Hairstyle Series’, which consists of over a thousand pictures and is the largest of his archive to date. Its nice for us to take a minute and appreciate the innovative braids and weaving techniques that our mothers, their mothers and our great grand mothers rocked s0 beautifully once upon a time. We love the encapsulation of Nigeria’s timeless beauty and cultural heritage

Coutesy
Thefancyhub

‘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’. – J.D. Okhai Ojeikere