Ife Bronze, from the series "Hairstyles"

J.D. 'Okhai OjeikereWW-1972-111028

1972·Gelatin silver print·Image/paper: 27.9 × 18 cm (11 × 7 1/8 in.)

<p>After Nigeria gained independence in 1960, traditional hairstyles, along with other body arts, made a comeback as forms of resistance to colonialism’s “progressive” westernization. Some of these elaborate hairstyles required more than a week’s work. They were given names freighted with cultural references; the one seen here is called Ife Bronze, referring to a group of 12th-century copper heads unearthed in 1938 at Ife in Nigeria. Studio photographer J. D. ’Okhai Ojeikere began recording these elaborate designs in 1968 and eventually made some 1,000 images over a period of decades. Ojeikere collaborated with stylists and placed his sitters against neutral backgrounds, photographing the back or side of the head to produce a sculptural presentation of the hairstyle as opposed to a conventional portrait.</p>

Catalogue

Year: 1972
Medium: Gelatin silver print
Dimensions: Image/paper: 27.9 × 18 cm (11 × 7 1/8 in.)
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago
Artist: J.D. 'Okhai Ojeikere

Artist

J.D. 'Okhai Ojeikere

Photography

J.D. 'Okhai Ojeikere was a Nigerian photographer best known for his extensive documentation of traditional Yoruba hairstyles from the 1960s onward. Working primarily in black and white, he created a vast archive of intricate braided and plaited forms, treating each coiffure as a sculptural and cultural artifact worthy of formal study. His work functions simultaneously as ethnographic record, portrait practice, and abstract formal investigation, elevating everyday adornment to the register of fine art. Ojeikere's photographs preserve vanishing techniques and honor the skill of practitioners while establishing photography as a vital tool for documenting African material culture.

Full artist profile →