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Mudi Yahaya appears to relish unsettling viewers with themes he addresses. The works featured in his ‘Nigerian Hottentots Venus’ and ‘Black Woman Unplugged’, two photography exhibitions held recently in Lagos, had subjects depicted partially nude.

His solo exhibition, ‘The Ruptured Landscape: On the Constructions of Difference’ which opened at the Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA), Yaba on Friday, April 8 somewhat toes the same line. Comprising 25 images and a video, the works investigate versions of African hybrid identities, their visual languages, currencies and vocabularies. The images also deal with the power identity wields over people in post-colonial spaces, while exploring the relationship between experience and self identity.

Yahaya’s photography has, over time, evolved from social documentary essays to critical conceptual photography and it is not surprising that he is worried about the way imagery is used in Nigeria. He feels that the differences between commercial and artistic photography needs to be made clear. “I love telling stories, I am a photo journalist, that is my inclination, but there is a difference with art,” he notes.

Identity is key

“Identity in itself is sufficient to work on,” he says in response to a question of what other factors or themes there are to motivate him. “People in this part of this world always ask questions like ‘Who are you?’ and ‘Where are you from?’ It is an African dilemma. It is important to know who you are; the black man has problems with that. The way we are translates to the way we do things. Visually, we have not done enough. We push out imagery that brings us down, we run away from critical work because it shows us who we really are,” he adds.

Yahaya who trained as an Electrical Engineer and who began his career in photography in 1995, also highlights the importance of understanding oneself. “We are the biggest Black country in the world but we are struggling because our imagery is wrong. For us to project the right imagery, we have to come back to ourselves. We need to study the limits and parameters of our identity.”

Natural state

Some of the works in ‘The Ruptured Landscape: On the Constructions of Difference’ show subjects in varying states of undress, and Yahaya explains why. “There is a difference between nudity and nakedness. Nudity in art is de-sexed and represents the ideal of beauty and freedom. One can’t really talk about issues of identity without mentioning freedom. Freedom should be seen visually.” He adds that all human beings were born naked so there is nothing wrong in showing man in his most natural state. “It is a corruption of cosmopolitan thinking that causes it. When you go to the village, one is not shocked by a naked man, woman or child. Nudity is a state and should not depend on sensitisation. When some people see the images, they say it is harassing. You are limited by the way you see the images, it is the parameters that you put on it that makes it a provocative image.”

Violence and identity

Apart from nudity, a number of images on display have bloody incisions on them. Though they were photoshopped, the blood and bullet holes look real. ‘I Love Naija’ is carved on the subject’s chest in one image and the blood from the fresh wound is visually disturbing.

“Violence is inherent but we are silent. It is part of us but we do not talk about it. But it is until we understand it visually before we do anything about it,” he reasons. All our identities, he reiterates, have been scared by violence because post-colonial African states have employed violence to accomplish questionable ends. Pointing to a work that shows a sturdy, bearded man holding a bloody knife with ‘Yes I do’ inscribed on his chest, Yahaya says, “We have been sensitised to see an image of a bearded man holding a bloodied knife as a Muslim but that is not true. It could be anyone.” There is another striking image of two naked men holding each other’s waists. Asked what the photograph means, Yahaya says, “Most people do not understand their sexuality, you need to know your sexuality the way you know your name. Most people that are judging others are actually scared.” Another image shows a woman backing the camera in five different poses. Others include: a naked woman sitting on a chair with an African mask superimposed on her face and a naked man using the skull of a cow to cover his nether regions. Though one would have thought Yahaya would have a tough time getting subjects for his works, he discloses that doing so, was easy.

‘The Ruptured Landscape: On the Constructions of Difference’ by Mudi Yahaya is at the Centre for Contemporary Art, Yaba, Lagos till April 23.