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Jumoke Sanwo
Photographer
QUICK FACTS

Jumoke Sanwo is a lifestyle photographer out of Lagos, Nigeria and a graduate of English Studies from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. She was born in the city of Lagos on February 2, 1977. She picked up photography at an early age growing up surrounded by the culture of documenting social events within the family. For her, images are huge representations of different stages of growth in life and a way of documenting history as it enfolds. This can then be used as a point of reference in the future.

She is part of a collective of female photographers in Nigeria known as 'The Xperspective' and was part of two exhibitions organised by the Goethe Institute in Nigeria showcasing the works of upcoming female photographers in 2011. 

She was a participant in the Invisible Borders Trans African Photography Project 3rd Edition and was part of the group’s historic road trip from Nigeria (West Africa) to Ethiopia (East Africa) travelling through Chad and Sudan en route.

She showcased as part of the Invisible Borders collective at the New York Triennial tagged 'The Ungovernables' organised by the New Museum of New York in February 2012. Her works were also featured in the African Number 2 Photo Projection Exhibition in Brussels in March 2012. Her recently concluded project on identity which focuses on the ancient art of scarification was also featured in the largest outdoor exhibition in New York tagged ‘Art Takes Time Square’ at Times Square in June 2012. She was recommended for this year’s Future Generation Arts Prize, one of the most prestigious contemporary art prizes in the world.

Her images are a reflection of her inner thoughts and she uses this to highlight topical issues in the society as well as tell the story of Africa from an African’s perspective. She is currently working on varied projects on faces, identity and women’s artwork, as well as a personal project tagged "Photo4U".

"I focused on the aso-oke industry in Iseyin, Oyo State as part of my project on "Women Art Work" to showcase the industry in a unique light. I love the intricate detail that goes into producing this fabric and how it has retained this over the years. I see a huge tourism potential laying to waste and I hope the images would promote the art in the making of this fabric…"

You can view more of her works on her personal blog.