Cian Oba-Smith (born 1992) [1] is a fine-art / documentary photographer from London.
Oba-Smith was born and raised in Holloway, North London. [2] [3] He is of Nigerian and Irish descent. He studied photography at the University of the West of England, graduating in 2014. [4]
Oba-Smith has made various projects throughout his career including A Quiet Prayer, [5] a record of London in the first lockdown during the covid pandemic, Shanzhai, [6] an exploration of the phenomena of copycat architecture in China, Concrete Horsemen, [7] highlighting the forgotten contributions of African American horsemen in North Philadelphia, Andover & Six Acres, [8] an interrogation of the negative stereotypes placed upon the estates in North London and Bikelife, [9] a documentation of urban dirt-bike and wheelie culture in London.
Oba-Smith self-published his first book, Bikelife, [2] in 2016. In 2019, his book Andover & Six Acres was published by Lost Light Recordings. [10]
In 2019, he completed an artist residency at Light Work in Syracuse, NY, where he created a project on redlining and the links between historical segregation policy and contemporary communities. [3] [11]
Alongside his artistic practice, Oba-Smith works on commissions for various publications such as FT Weekend, [12] The Face, [13] M Magazine Le Monde, [14] The Guardian, [15] The Telegraph, [16] Crack Magazine, [17] Vice [18] and others.