THE STREET SMART — AN ARTSPLIT SPOTLIGHT
Andrew Esiebo is a visual storyteller. His images are studies of familiar urban spaces in still frames. His photographs are fast becoming the eye with which the international community documents Africa and a way to observe the nuances of everyday life.
8:33 pm. Tuesday. Debonairs Pizza. Adeniran Ogunsanya, Surulere. We are catching up and thumbing at pies of peppery chicken Pizza. I had not seen Andrew in a while, not since he documented Nigeria’s response to the global pandemic, particularly the activities of those on the frontline of the fight against COVID-19. He had haloed these gentlemen and ladies with his photographs and called them Coro Angels.
He looks well-rested but antsy, as usual. His hair has grown inches. He is bespectacled now; he wears Tomford eyewear. On his feet is a pale blue and white striped Aso-oke sneakers. While we down a soft drink to finish off dinner, he tells me casually of a project for Google he did on the same streets of Adeniran Ogunsanya. If you attend your ears, he will share about other prime commissions he has fulfilled in recent times. His tone is not of pride but gratitude; for the opportunity to give a command performance with his gift at all times.
Andrew has fulfilled commissions from reputable publications like the New York Times, Washington Post, Guardian UK, National Geographic, Wired, Time, and multinationals like Youtube, Disney, Whatsapp, Facebook, CNN, and so many more.
His eyes are on the television in the pizzeria as the song BUGA by Kizz Daniel plays; I interrupt. I ask what his experience as a photojournalist has taught him about what gives a photograph its long-lasting value. Andrew begins by applauding the proliferation of the photography profession in Nigeria over the last decade. “It is fast growing. The terrain is super-saturated with many amazing photographers; the beauty I see today is that we are telling our stories more. In the past, we used to have a lot of western people coming to tell our story photographically; now, we have a bunch of good storytellers. Yes, people now own their narrative, but I think we could do more by finding our vision, such that when we see a work, we can tell who the artist is. I think it is quite easy to find. It is about consistency and looking inward.”
We are walking out of the pizzeria, saying goodbye to our cheerful attendant when he continues. “Our visual culture is still basic,” He submits, referring to the kind of photography prevalent in Nigeria as technique-based. He suggests that the industry moves from technique-based photographs to issue-based photography. “Technique is important, do not get me wrong, but I see people resting on technique and no further. They are not asking what the essence and purpose of images are. Great photographers are not just making beautiful pictures; they convey something with the beautiful picture”.
Andrew is a photojournalist. Many photographers whose work has been called works of art belong to this school. They document the simplicity of everyday living; over time, the body of work reveals a style, a dogma, and a structure of visual honesty - non-aesthetes but purveyors of superior visual mastery. Andrew is one of the few from Nigeria. “Sometimes it is not just about the aesthetics of the picture; it is about the purpose of the image,” he says. We are walking to my car now. I picked him up from his hotel room. He lodged around here for proximity to an assignment.
I remember my first encounter with his work. It was the Barbershop series. He had combed the urban spaces of West Africa, documenting the shanties and shops used as barbershops as a way to express a kind of masculinity. I have followed up ever since. His work with football in odd spaces is another thoughtful body of work, an ongoing project that has seen the most ingenious visual study of space, man, and a round ball.
His latest project is about the urban ecology and economy of the waste tyre in Lagos as commissioned by the British Academy of Arts. This body of work studies the resilient lifespan of a tyre and its after-life utility, and so much more.
Andrew Esiebo is at the top of his game. He has been for over a decade. Would an Esiebo photograph command as much value as a Grillo painting in the nearest future? Only time would tell. Andrew Esiebo makes the familiar a spectacle. He has an eye.
ARTSPLIT is an art trading technology company driven by one common goal; enhancing the investment status of African art by allowing users to co-own rare and valuable artworks on a platform that guarantees price discovery and market liquidity.
To learn more about the platform, send an email at info@artsplit.com or visit www.artsplit.com. You can also call or WhatsApp our mobile at +234(0)9088962169 and follow @artsplitofficial on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
