2023 marks the return of MoMA’s New Photography series—a biannual presentation of contemporary perspectives on photography—after five years away from the Museum’s galleries. This year, the series has shifted approach to focus on artists working in relation to a specific art scene across the globe. New Photography 2023 features the work of seven international artists—Kelani Abass, Akinbode Akinbiyi, Yagazie Emezi, Amanda Iheme, Abraham Oghobase, Karl Ohiri, and Logo Oluwamuyiwa—each of whom maintains a connection to the art community flourishing in the port city of Lagos, Nigeria.
Over the last year and a half, we have worked with these artists within and beyond the bounds of the city in order to make this exhibition. The following questionnaire provides an opportunity to get to know these artists. It surveys the motivations and creative decisions that shape their practices, articulating the stakes of their works in relationship to the flow of time. These photographers are alert to how images project instant visions into the future, ossifying ephemeral moments into bounded carriers of meaning. They are attuned to the effects of time on pictures—altering them as objects and shifting their messages continually. Their relationships to the picture are inflected with space and poetry, social motivations and political awareness. Engaging the photograph as a site that is ever unfolding, their positions are exemplified in Yagazie Emezi’s statement: “I work with time.”
Bar Beach, Victoria Island, Lagos from the series Sea Never Dry. 2010. Courtesy the artist” data-image-overlay-item data-image-overlay-src=”/d/assets/W1siZiIsIjIwMjMvMDUvMTUvOGVpNmduMWY5Zl8yX0FraW5ib2RlX0FraW5iaXlpLmpwZyJdLFsicCIsImNvbnZlcnQiLCItcXVhbGl0eSA5MCAtcmVzaXplIDIwMDB4MjAwMFx1MDAzZSJdXQ/2%20Akinbode%20Akinbiyi.jpg?sha=a8c00ed1b083b50f” tabindex=”0″ ontouchstart onerror=”window.MoMA.onImageError(this, 1)”>
Akinbode Akinbiyi. Bar Beach, Victoria Island, Lagos from the series Sea Never Dry. 2010
Old Secretariat—Stagnation—11 from the series The Way of Life. 2018. Courtesy the artist” data-image-overlay-item data-image-overlay-src=”/d/assets/W1siZiIsIjIwMjMvMDUvMjIvYzFzajNxNjFsXzEuX0FtYW5kYV9JaGVtZS5qcGciXSxbInAiLCJjb252ZXJ0IiwiLXF1YWxpdHkgOTAgLXJlc2l6ZSAyMDAweDIwMDBcdTAwM2UiXV0/1.%20Amanda%20Iheme.jpg?sha=85254efdc824e0e6″ tabindex=”0″ ontouchstart onerror=”window.MoMA.onImageError(this, 1)”>
Amanda Iheme. Old Secretariat—Stagnation—11 from the series The Way of Life. 2018
Unfolding Layers 6. 2021. Courtesy the artist” data-image-overlay-item data-image-overlay-src=”/d/assets/W1siZiIsIjIwMjMvMDUvMjIvMnBxemlpN2FiNF9DYXNpbmdfSGlzdG9yeV9VbmZvbGRpbmdfTGF5ZXJzXzZfNTB4NjBjbV8yMDIxX0xldHRlcnByZXNzX3R5cGVfY2FzZV9hbmRfZGlnaXRhbF9wcmludF93ZWJfMi5qcGciXSxbInAiLCJjb252ZXJ0IiwiLXF1YWxpdHkgOTAgLXJlc2l6ZSAyMDAweDIwMDBcdTAwM2UiXV0/Casing%20History,%20Unfolding%20Layers%206,%2050x60cm,%202021,%20Letterpress%20type-case%20and%20digital%20print%20%28web%29-2.jpg?sha=b8fb6a2e5f144172″ tabindex=”0″ ontouchstart onerror=”window.MoMA.onImageError(this, 1)”>
Kelani Abass. Unfolding Layers 6. 2021
Hazy II, from the series Monochrome Lagos. 2015. Courtesy the artist” data-image-overlay-item data-image-overlay-src=”/d/assets/W1siZiIsIjIwMjMvMDUvMTUvM2FldDFyeTBrbl80Ll9Mb2dvX09sdXdhbXV5aXdhX0hhenlfSUlfZnJvbV90aGVfc2VyaWVzX01vbm9jaHJvbWVfTGFnb3NfMjAxNS4uanBnIl0sWyJwIiwiY29udmVydCIsIi1xdWFsaXR5IDkwIC1yZXNpemUgMjAwMHgyMDAwXHUwMDNlIl1d/4.%20Logo%20Oluwamuyiwa,%20Hazy%20II,%20from%20the%20series%20Monochrome%20Lagos,%202015..jpg?sha=3b6bf241247b1c2b” tabindex=”0″ ontouchstart onerror=”window.MoMA.onImageError(this, 1)”>
Logo Oluwamuyiwa. Hazy II, from the series Monochrome Lagos. 2015
Constructed Realities. 2019–22. Courtesy the artist” data-image-overlay-item data-image-overlay-src=”/d/assets/W1siZiIsIjIwMjMvMDUvMTUvNjUwNGpwNTduZ181Ll9BYnJhaGFtX09naG9iYXNlX1VudGl0bGVkXzAyX2Zyb21fQ29uc3RydWN0ZWRfUmVhbGl0aWVzX2luc3RhbGxhdGlvbl8yMDE5XzIwMjIuLmpwZyJdLFsicCIsImNvbnZlcnQiLCItcXVhbGl0eSA5MCAtcmVzaXplIDIwMDB4MjAwMFx1MDAzZSJdXQ/5.%20Abraham%20Oghobase,%20Untitled%2002,%20from%20Constructed%20Realities%20installation,%202019%E2%80%932022..jpg?sha=693335334dc4ade3″ tabindex=”0″ ontouchstart onerror=”window.MoMA.onImageError(this, 1)”>
Abraham Oghobase. From Constructed Realities. 2019–22
Untitled, from the series The Archive of Becoming. 2015–ongoing. Courtesy the artist” data-image-overlay-item data-image-overlay-src=”/d/assets/W1siZiIsIjIwMjMvMDUvMTUvM2Z1NWgzb2dneV82Ll9LYXJsX09oaXJpX1VudGl0bGVkX2Zyb21fdGhlX3Nlcmllc19UaGVfQXJjaGl2ZV9vZl9CZWNvbWluZ18yMDE1X29uZ29pbmcuXy5qcGciXSxbInAiLCJjb252ZXJ0IiwiLXF1YWxpdHkgOTAgLXJlc2l6ZSAyMDAweDIwMDBcdTAwM2UiXV0/6.%20Karl%20Ohiri,%20Untitled,%20from%20the%20series%20The%20Archive%20of%20Becoming,%202015%E2%80%93ongoing.%20.jpg?sha=665c4d7472109996″ tabindex=”0″ ontouchstart onerror=”window.MoMA.onImageError(this, 1)”>
Karl Ohiri. Untitled, from the series The Archive of Becoming. 2015–ongoing
Untitled, from the series #EndSARS Protests. 2020. Courtesy the artist” data-image-overlay-item data-image-overlay-src=”/d/assets/W1siZiIsIjIwMjMvMDUvMTUvcWY1MXZvOXN3XzcuX1lhZ2F6aWVfRW1lemlfVW50aXRsZWRfZnJvbV90aGVfc2VyaWVzX0VuZFNBUlNfUHJvdGVzdHNfMjAyMC5fLmpwZyJdLFsicCIsImNvbnZlcnQiLCItcXVhbGl0eSA5MCAtcmVzaXplIDIwMDB4MjAwMFx1MDAzZSJdXQ/7.%20Yagazie%20Emezi,%20Untitled,%20from%20the%20series%20%23EndSARS%20Protests,%202020.%20.jpg?sha=6c18a74fd829e81c” tabindex=”0″ ontouchstart onerror=”window.MoMA.onImageError(this, 1)”>
Yagazie Emezi. Untitled, from the series #EndSARS Protests. 2020
New Photography 2023, organized by Oluremi C. Onabanjo, Associate Curator, with Kaitlin Booher, Newhall Curatorial Fellow, and Samuel Allen, MRC Fellow, Department of Photography, is on view May 28–September 16, 2023.
