Akinbode Akinbiyi(1946-alive)

Akinbode Akinbiyi is a British photographer, author, and curator with a Nigerian background. He grew up in England and Lagos, Nigeria. He studied Literature and English in Nigeria, England, and Germany. Before he got in touch with photography, his initial fields were architecture and journalism. In 1972, Akinbiyi started to get engaged in photography as a self-taught practice.

As a street photographer, Akinbiyi developed his photography style as one city’s everyday life, whether it’s tranquility or vividity. Akinbiyi shot the photo in monochrome as he traveled between different large cities in Africa and Berlin as he began his three-long and ongoing series. His three ongoing series were “Photography, Tobacco, Sweets, Condoms and Other Configurations” in the 1970s, “Sea Never Dry” in the 1980s, and “African Quarter” in the 1990s.

Three series give different vibes to the viewers. In his first series “Photography, Tobacco, Sweets, Condoms and Other Configurations”, the photos documented how a city is filled with vivid vibes in the photos, people were gathering together for events or ceremonies. In Akinbiyi’s “Sea Never Dry”, he documented the tranquility that the ocean gave him through his photoshoot of residents walking on the sand or sitting on chairs. Akinbiyi’s last ongoing series “African Quarter” shows more on the political and socio-economic struggles in Wedding, a residential area where the streets were named after German colonies and other regions in Africa: Togostraße, Kameruner Straße, Afrikanische Straße.

Presentation Link:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/17cNJp5R4Pfkdxctb8IaSekm1D7PAGjH3O3oQ66ToiIE/edit?usp=sharing