Anyone who has attended life cycle events in Nigeria, such as weddings, funerals, and other social occasions, will have encountered the ubiquity of the photographer. His or her role has expanded since the beginning of 1990s to include the filming of such ceremonies, which, much like the photographs that decorate the walls of the parlor, can be displayed to visitors. These present to the visitor the social biography of the household. There are also widespread practices of commemoration that make use of photography and video by exploiting their status as tangible records of past events or scenes in order to elicit memory. In funerary rites across southern Nigeria, the very materiality of the photograph can contribute to the spectacle and its performance with close kin members dancing with the framed image of the deceased to honor the individual's life and contribution to the family or lineage. Funerary rites vary from...
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Fall 2015
September 01 2015
African Photography
Charles Gore
Charles Gore
Charles Gore is senior lecturer in the History of African art at SOAS and has undertaken research in Nigeria for some twenty-five years. A key research theme is histories of photography in Nigeria and the west coast of Africa. cg2@soas.ac.uk
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Charles Gore
Charles Gore is senior lecturer in the History of African art at SOAS and has undertaken research in Nigeria for some twenty-five years. A key research theme is histories of photography in Nigeria and the west coast of Africa. cg2@soas.ac.uk
Online ISSN: 1937-2108
Print ISSN: 0001-9933
© 2015 by the Regents of the University of California.
2015
African Arts (2015) 48 (3): 1–5.
Citation
Charles Gore; African Photography. African Arts 2015; 48 (3): 1–5. doi: https://doi.org/10.1162/AFAR_a_00233
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