“I am a Nigerian visual artist based in London whose work is expressed through the medium of photography.”
Ade 'Àsìkò' Okelarin is a self-taught Nigerian photographer born in 1978. He spent his formative years in Nigeria before moving to London in 1995. His work is inspired primarily by his African culture and heritage.
1. What is your artistic process when working/coming up with ideas on a new project?
My process is a bit fluid in that inspiration can come from anywhere, sometimes it's something I've seen, like the images from the Adorned series were based on a mysterious woman I saw in my youth while living in Nigeria. She was tall, dark and powerful and adorned in copious amounts of jewellery. Sometimes it’s from a discussion, as the idea for the Sons of the Motherland was from a talk I had with my wife about African masculinity and its expression in the contemporary world. Usually, inspiration leads to a period of incubation, where I maul over the idea until it grows and becomes fully fleshed out. From this point, I will start to prepare and write my ideas down for posterity. Next, I start to envision the shoot, what it would look like, what sort of models I would need, who would style it and other creatives needed, basically what the whole aesthetic and mood would be. Once my mind is settled, I usually bring the team in and share my vision through moodboards and conversations.
I believe the ideas we nurture as artists are sometimes a reflection of the things our minds were filled with as children. As a child I was interested in fantasy, the supernatural and fantastic and hence my work straddles between fantasy and reality. I also believe this is key to setting yourself apart as an artist.
2. What was the inspiration behind Sons of the Motherland for POSTSCRIPT Issue 3?
The Sons of the Motherland images were inspired by masculinity in Africa and how it is expressed in certain societies on the continent. In my research for the series, I found that these expressions of masculinity were quite counterculture to western ideals. Some African cultures wore and still wear skirts, some wear makeup to attract members of the opposite sex, cross-dressing is not frowned upon and in some cases is not seen as cross-dressing at all. I looked at the aesthetic of these cultures such as the Gerewol and Wodaabe for inspiration for the shoot.
Sons of the Motherland, featured in ‘The Defiance Issue’.
3. You don’t often shoot men? Is there a particular reason why?
It’s funny you mention that as I had actually shot a man before, over and over again, the said man being me. When I was starting out in photography, I did a number of self-portraits over a couple of years which were about my emotional state and my journey as a man. Back then I had a lot to say about masculinity, more so my own masculinity. This switched into my intersection with cultural heritage and identity. Through my research into culture, I became intrigued by the African woman and her space in African cultural structures. You could say I was following my heart and intuition and creating work around the subject matters that interested me. I feel I became intrigued by the space of men and how they represent and express themselves in African societies for the Sons of Motherland editorial. I was intrigued by how our notions of identity were constructed by Western ideology which is different from African cultures.
4. What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
These days, you can find me in a gallery or museum, in a cinema, in the kitchen making Komboucha (fermented tea is a new thing I am exploring).
Sons of the Motherland, featured in ‘The Defiance Issue’.
5. If you could wake up tomorrow having gained one ability or quality, what would it be?
I used to always think super strength, but then I thought about telepathy; the ability to read people's minds would be wild. Then I thought I actually don't want to know the dark recesses of people's minds, that could get ugly real fast. I think I would settle on teleportation, the ability to go wherever and see the world would be amazing, off course with a camera. To see the beauty of this world and connect with its diverse population would be a dream, imagine having brunch with Oprah stateside, swimming in Thailand and watching the sunset in Polynesia all in a day, who wouldn't want to do that. You can tell I've thought about this before.
6. For what in your life do you feel most grateful for?
It's a list, my connection with God, my wife, the gift of my ability in how I see the world, I'll stop there for now.
‘Sons of the Motherland’ featured in POSTSCRIPT Issue 3.