Hair raising Originally appeared in Azure Magazine: June/July 2002 Issue

Hair becomes sculptural design object in the images of Nigerian photographer J.D. Okhai Ojeikere. Over the past thirty years, Ojeikere has painstakingly documented his countrywomen's unique form of self-expression in classically composed, large-format black and white portraits.

Shot largely from the back of the head, the photographs show the way Nigerian women have developed the humble hairstyle into a complex and beautiful means of visual communication. The range of styles spans towering tresses, tiny graphic plaits, braids, buns and gravity-defying loops; they are achieved, says Ojeikere, through plaiting different thicknesses of hair wrapped and knotted many times over with thread.

"There are hundreds of ethnic groups in Nigeria, each with its own language and traditions, and as many different hairstyles," says Ojeikere, now in his 70's. "They are not a static thing. Hairstyles are introduced by different stylists according to observations made in their environment combined with creative imagination." Ojeikere points to a fascinating modern example. When skyscrapers went up in Nigeria's capital city, Lagos, in the 1960's and 1970's, hairstyles imitating tall buildings followed soon after.

Ojeikere started out as a village photographer, but became one of Nigeria's most sought-after advertising photographers in the 1960's. The Hairstyles series provides a unique glimpse into modern culture in the West African country, and is among the Lagos-based photographer's most famous work.