FAMILY MEMBERS have confirmed that photographer JD ‘Okhai’ Ojeikere
who was best known for his work with unique hairstyles found in Nigeria
has died.
He passed away on Sunday afternoon after a short illness, reports say.
The 83-year-old, born in Western Nigeria in 1930, became a photographer for the Western Nigerian Broadcasting Services in 1959.
Known for his series of about 1,000 black and white photos of African
hairstyles and also credited for taking pictures of some of the now
iconic buildings of capital city Lagos as they were being built,
including the National Theatre, which led to Ojeikere’s work receiving
global attention.
Last year, a selection of his art was displayed at the 55th Venice Biennale.
In an interview with the BBC in 2010, Ojeikere who began working on
his Hairstyle series in the late 1960s after he joined the Nigerian Arts
Council, said: “We had so many dreams at the time.
“We thought a country so rich in natural resources could really go ahead on its own. But our dreams were shattered by tribalism.
“Then came the military dictatorships, one after another, for so many
years. It makes me sad to think that things have not changed much. You
see the same elites holding on to power and getting richer and richer,”
he added.
His families are yet to announce his burial arrangements.
