Jenevieve Aken

Last updated

Jenevieve Aken
Born1989
Ikon Aluk, Cross River, Nigeria
NationalityNigerian
OccupationPhotographer
Website www.jenevieveaken.com

Jenevieve Aken (born 1989) [1] is a Nigerian documentary, self-portrait and urban portrait photographer, focusing on cultural and social issues. Her work often revolves around her personal experiences and social issues surrounding gender roles. [2] Aken also models in her self-portrait works. Her work has been shown at Lagos Photo Festival. [2] [3] Aken currently resides in Lagos, Nigeria. [4] [5]

Contents

Biography

Aken grew up in the small village of Ikom Aluk in Cross River State. She suffered the death of her mother at a young age and was not aligned her father. He father was rather traditional and didn't want her to pursue career in music. Hence, they parted ways. She wrote songs inspired by her life experiences, one song being titled "Make It Through The Race." After her short stint in music she went on to try acting but soon put that aside as well. She eventually got her first break at the Vilsco Fashion Show and recognized the harsh realities of women in the modelling industry. It was her experiences in modeling that brought her to a career in photography. [6]

She enrolled in the Market Photo workshop, Johannesburg, South Africa but was not able to complete the courses as she discovered opportunities in the British Council Model of the Year competition. She returned home to participate in the MTN Lagos Fashion & Design Week. While she stopped short of completing her photography classes, she told Pulse.ng "I will go back to complete my photography school. I know photography and modeling are both heavy tasks to undertake but I have passion for both and will do both concurrently for as long as I can," in an interview. Aken has seen success in photography regardless of finishing classes by participating in the Lagos Photo Festival. [6]

Photography series

Handy Hands

This photo series documents women in Berlin, Germany as they struggle to fit into "specified" roles of women in society. The images show a series of women pursuing careers that historically men have dominated. The women in the photos feel strongly about their career and are confident in the work they are doing regardless of the gender gap. [7] [8]

The Masked Women

This is a black and white, self-portrait series meant to depict women and their social roles in Nigerian culture. The images depict the peace and self-fulfilment of a woman without the stigmatized overarching views of women in a Nigerian culture. The images also explore how women can feel constrained by the stereotypes of what a "proper women" should act like in society. These photos are meant to exemplify women who have broken these stigmas but feel isolated by the norms of the society. In this series Aken hopes to inspire Nigerian women to practice their freedom regardless of external stereotypes. [9]

Great Expectations

Inspired by Charles Dickens', Great Expectations , Akens created this series to illustrate the pressures on women, specifically African, to get married. [2] [10] Akens attempts to show how even the most successful women can feel unsuccessful until they are married due to social pressures. [11] [12]

Monankim

This photo series by Aken is based on a tradition ritual called Monankim that originates from the Bakor minority tribes. Monankim is a tradition in the Bakor culture that circumcises women and then celebrated as it is a symbol of entering womanhood. [1] This tradition is seen as a right of passage and a woman is idolized after completing the process. [1] This tradition is controversial [13] as the process is dangerous and life-threatening. Aken documents the opposing views of Monankim by women in the society. [1] While some see the process as exciting, others feel hesitant toward the idea. [1]

Community and Courage

This photo series is set at a beach called Takwa Bay which is a popular place for refugees who swim and surf. Takwa Bay is known for allowing wide ranges of people to interact. The photos in this series depict how community and courage are both required in sports as the photos show children playing together regardless of societal background. [7] [14]

Awards

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aïda Muluneh</span> Ethiopian photographer (born 1974)

Aïda Muluneh is an Ethiopian photographer and contemporary artist based in Addis Ababa. She does commercial work as well as photojournalism in Addis Ababa and elsewhere.

Michèle Pearson Clarke is a Trinidadian filmmaker and photographer based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lagos Photo</span>

LagosPhoto Festival is the first international art festival of photography in Nigeria, launched in October 2010. It is organised by the African Artists’ Foundation (AAF) as part of an ongoing project designed to use art in public spaces, as a medium for increasing societal awareness. The festival includes workshops and classes for professional artists, art fairs and indoor and outdoor exhibitions citywide. LagosPhoto is held annually and features emerging photographers alongside established photographers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blanca Charolet</span> Mexican photojournalist

Blanca Charolet is a photographer, and the first female photojournalist to work for a Mexican newspaper. She began in photography when she was thirteen years old, working in her uncle's business. She then worked for two publications, including the El Universal newspaper. This was followed by a stint as the official photographer of the Mexican presidency from 1977 to 1982. After this, she founded her own studio and has since specialized in the photography of famous people, show business, and major events, working with various Mexican and international publications. She has also done artistic photography, both alone and working collaboratively. Her work has been honored with twelve awards, including membership in the Salón de la Plástica Mexicana and the Premio Nacional de la Mujer in 2011.

Andrew Esiebo is a Nigerian photographer. He has covered personal projects and assignments on primarily Nigeria and West Africa but has gained international recognition.

Nontsikelelo "Lolo" Veleko is a South African photographer most noted for her depiction of black identity, urbanisation and fashion in post-apartheid South Africa.

Aisha Augie-Kutapronunciation is a Nigerian photographer and filmmaker based in Abuja. She is an Hausa from Argungu Local Government Area in northern Nigeria. She won the award for Creative Artist of the year at the 2011 The Future Awards. Her work spans across documentary, fashion and aerial photography. She uses juxtaposition in her work as her way of pushing the idea that there are always two sides of a story; this comes from her background in photojournalism and Mass Communication. Her personal projects explore issues of gender and identity influenced by her experiences as a female, mixed race and mixed tribe individual who struggled to fit in earlier in life.

David Ejikeme Uzochukwu is an Austrian–Nigerian art photographer with a focus on portrait photography who lives and works in Brussels and Berlin.

Olajumoke Orisaguna is a Nigerian model who received public attention when, while hawking bread on the streets of Lagos, she unknowingly walked into a photo shoot session of British rapper, Tinie Tempah, by Nigerian photographer, TY Bello, for Nigeria's This Day magazine. TY Bello, while making edits, found an image of Olajumoke and Tinie Tempah amongst the photos. Bello's searched for Olajumoke and photographed her. She appeared on the cover of the above magazine before she was employed as a model. She later got jobs in some major presenting shows and make up schools. The story was reported in various media sources, including CNN and BBC Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emily Nkanga</span>

Emily Nkanga is a Nigerian-British photographer and filmmaker. Nkanga is best known for her works covering singers Koker, Aramide, Boj, Olamide, Jidenna, Not3s, Mr Eazi, Mayorkun, Adekunle Gold, Music Producer Sarz, Broadway actor Adesola Osakalumi, Footballer Tammy Abraham and legendary Nigerian singer Femi Kuti. Nkanga's photo-documentary with internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Northeast Nigeria affected by Boko Haram insurgents, has also enjoyed rave reviews.

Kelechi Amadi-Obi is a Nigerian creative photographer, painter, artist and the publisher of Mania Magazine. His work in photography and visual art has earned him international renown featuring in many international exhibitions including Snap Judgment: New Position in contemporary African Photography, International center of photography New York (2006) He has been described as one of Nigeria's groundbreaking celebrity photographers who has "helped put Nigerian photography on the world map.". Vogue calls him "a major force in the creative scene in Nigeria."

Sarah Waiswa is a documentary and portrait photographer born in Uganda and based in Nairobi, Kenya. She won the 2016 Rencontres d'Arles Discovery Award for a series that explored albino persecution in sub-Saharan Africa. She was also recognized by the 2015 Uganda Press Photo Awards.

Novo Isioro is a Nigerian visual communication strategist and photographer. Between 2015 and 2019, Novo was Nigeria's Presidential Documentary Photographer in the Office of the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN. She was the first female to hold this position. She combined this with her role as Special Assistant on Visual Communication.

Bénédicte Kurzen, is a French photographer and photojournalist. She is based in Lagos, Nigeria.

Nadine Ijewere is a London-born photographer of Nigerian-Jamaican parentage. She works in the fields of fashion and portraiture, and is known for celebrating the diversity of her models, many of whom do not conform to the standard fashion industry stereotypes.

Nydia Blas is an American photographer from the state of New York, whose works explore the identity of young Black women and girls. Her concern at the lack of Black women represented in the visual arts has led her to concentrate solely on making images of women of color. She is currently an assistant professor at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, where she teaches photography in the department of art and visual culture.

Yagazie Emezi is a Nigerian artist and self-taught independent photojournalist based in Lagos, Nigeria.

Adama Delphine Fawundu is a Sierra Leonean-American multi-disciplinary photographer and visual artist promoting African culture and heritage, a co-founder and author of MFON: Women Photographers of the African Diaspora – a journal and book representing female photographers of African descent. Her works have been presented in numerous exhibitions worldwide. She uses multiple mediums to create works with themes about identity, utopia, decolonization, and stories of the past, present and future. She is a Professor of Visual Arts at Columbia University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anny Robert</span> Nigerian celebrity photographer (born 1990)

Anietie “Anny” Robert is a Nigerian portrait photographer and creative director in Niger State, Nigeria.

Phumzile Khanyile is a South African photographer, living in Johannesburg. Her series Plastic Crowns is about women's lives and sexual politics. The series has been shown in group exhibitions at the Palace of the Dukes of Cadaval in Evora, Portugal; Iziko South African National Gallery in Cape Town; and the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia; and was a winner of the CAP Prize for Contemporary African Photography,

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Smyth, Dianne (28 March 2018). "25 artists shortlisted for Contemporary African Photography Prize". British Journal of Photography . Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 O'Reilly, Finbarr (6 November 2016). "Exploring African Identity and Ritual at Lagos Photo Festival". The New York Times . Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  3. ↑ Williams, Megan (20 August 2020). "Intimate mental health series wins Wellcome Photography Prize 2020". Creative Review. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  4. ↑ Olivetti, Martina (11 October 2016). "The 4 Female African Contemporary Artists You Should Know". Culture Trip. Archived from the original on 12 November 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  5. 1 2 "Jenevieve Aken". Art Base Africa. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  6. 1 2 "Introducing Jenevieve Aken – MTN Model of the Year". Pulse. 11 November 2011. Archived from the original on 21 June 2018. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  7. 1 2 Ben, Joy (26 May 2022). "Jenevieve Aken: Award-Winning Photographer and Model". Komotic. Archived from the original on 18 September 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  8. ↑ "Handy Hands". Jenevieve Aken Photography. 17 December 2013. Archived from the original on 29 July 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  9. ↑ "The Masked Woman". Lagos Photo. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  10. ↑ Orubo, Daniel (1 October 2016). "Photographer captures the pressures of marriage Nigerian women face". Konbini Nigeria. Archived from the original on 8 May 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  11. ↑ "Great Expectations – Miss Aken". GUP Magazine. 12 December 2016. Archived from the original on 25 September 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  12. ↑ Dee, Christa (1 October 2017). "Jenevieve Aken's photographic series Great Expectations". Bubblegum Club. Archived from the original on 19 June 2018. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  13. ↑ "Prizewinning images of Africa, from grasshoppers to street life – in pictures". The Guardian . London. 1 April 2018. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  14. ↑ "Community & Courage". Jenevieve Aken Photography. 2017. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.