THE PHOTOGRAPHS OF DAVID UZOCHUKWU.

By Nii B. Andrews.

The photographs of David Uzochukwu exude a certain power: they are a formidable presence suffused with an urgent symbolism.

There are entwined bodies – sometimes with limbs that have morphed into fantastic forms; huge expanses of sky, water and sand are present.

They are set in dramatic and moody landscapes that could be Earth or another planet entirely and as such invite us into a monumental space for deep contemplation – both within and without.

What Uzochukwu is telegraphing is an interplay of the natural and supernatural; the trope of Mami Wata -the African mermaid….or if you prefer merfolk; possibly even delving deeper to reference the vexed relationship between the forced and voluntary African Diaspora and water involving the North, East and Western borders of the continent over centuries if not millennia.

Is it really a zero sum game when it comes to migration from Africa; does it have to be under forced and perilous circumstances or not at all; punctuated with the risk on arrival of either being met with animosity or living under constant threat of petty meanness and brutality?

To these troubling questions, Uzochukwu offers nuanced and provocative answers; an incubated baby, a proud centaur and a tender couple among others, inhabit a boundless realm therein referencing Ben Okri who stated:

“The whole of human history is an undiscovered continent deep in our souls. There are dolphins, plants that dream, magic birds inside us.The sky is inside us.”

With respect to Uzochukwu’s photos, as far as Ekow Eshun is concerned, “much of the imagery being produced today is an eagerness to grapple with urgent questions of culture, identity and history– albeit through imagery that accentuates the extraordinary rather than the everyday”.

Artists like Uzochukwu have embraced and subverted the notion that is often thrust at them as part of the Diaspora; that of being the “alien” or Other. They therefore willingly posit their messages within otherworldly landscapes inhabited by strange beings.

He is currently based in Berlin.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *