J. D. 'Okhai Ojeikere

**Johnson Donatus Aihumekeokhai Ojeikere** (10 June 1930 – 2 February 2014), na dem know am as **J.D. 'Okhai Ojeikere**, na he be a Nigerian photographer dem know for ein work plus unique hairstyles found insyd Nigeria.

## Biography
Na dem born Ojeikere for 10 June 1930 insyd Ovbiomu-Emai, Owan East, Edo State, a rural village insyd southwestern Nigeria. For addition to de dialect Emai, Ojeikere speak Yoruba den English. He work den live insyd Ketu, Nigeria. For de age of 20, he take up photography, wich na ebe out of de ordinary give people insyd Nigeria, especially those insyd ein village. Na cameras no be in high demand wey na dem be of low priority as na dem consider am a luxury. However, insyd 1950 Enugu, Ojeikere buy for two pounds a modest Brownie D camera widout flash, wey na ein paddy teach am de fundamentals of photography. Ojeikere gain information about de Ministry for Information insyd Ibadan insyd 1951, wey he go wrep de same letter to dem every 15 days for two years. For de end of 1953, dem finally reply say na dem receive Ojeikere ein request, wey e catch dema attention.

For de first Nigeria Photography Award (NIPHA) ceremony, organize by de multimedia organization Fullhouse Entertainment wey na dem hold am for Sunday, 31 July 2011, na Ojeikere be one of de prominent Nigerian photographers, alongsyd Sunmi Smart-Cole, Don Barber, den Amos Olarenwaju Osidele, wey na dem give am lifetime achievement awards.

Na dem include a large selection of Ojeikere ein work insyd de arsenale section of de 55th Venice Biennale d'arte, "Il Palazzo Enciclopedia" curate by Massimiliano Gioni insyd 2013.

Ojeikere die for 2 February 2014, for de age of 83. He be de subject of a documentary film by Tam Fiofori dem entitle *J. D. ‘Okhai Ojeikere: Master Photographer*.
## Publications
**J.D.'Okhai Ojeikere: Photographs*. Zürich: Scalo, 2000. Edited by Andre Magnin. .

## Collections

* Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL: 1 print (as of August 2020)
* Museum of Modern Art, New York: 3 pairs of prints (as of August 2020)
* Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York:  prints (as of August 2020)
* Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston, Texas: 13 prints (as of August 2020)

## Exhibitions
### Solo exhibitions
* 1995: Ojeikere ein first solo exhibition insyd Nigeria as well as an exhibition insyd Switzerland (first work dem show outsyd ein home country)
* 2000: *J. D. ‘Okhai Ojeikere*, Fondation Cartier pour l'Art Contemporain, Paris, France
* 2001: *J. D. ‘Okhai Ojeikere: Hairstyles 1968 – 1999*, MAMCO Musée d’art moderne et contemporain, Geneva, Switzerland
* 2005: *Hairstyles: J.D. ‘Okhai Ojeikere*, Blaffer Art Museum of de University of Houston, Texas, USA
* 2009: *Hairdos and Parties: African Typographies by J.D. 'Okhai Ojeikere and Malick Sidibé*, L. Parker Stephenson Photographs, New York 
* 2010: *Sartorial Moments*, Centre for Contemporary Art, Lagos, Nigeria
* 2011: *J.D. 'Okhai Ojeikere: Moments of Beauty*, Centre for Contemporary Art, Lagos, Nigeria
* 2011: *J.D. 'Okhai Ojeikere: Moments of Beauty*, Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki, Finland
* 2014: *J.D. 'Okhai Ojeikere: Hairstyles and Headdresses*, Royal Festival Hall, Southbank, London, UK
### Group exhibitions
*2000: *Africa: Past-Present*, Fifty-One Fine Art Photography, Antwerp
*2001: *Face Off*, Aeroplastics Contemporary, Brussels
*2002: *Collection in Context – Recent Photography Acquisitions*, The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, USA
*2003: *Highlights from the collection of Foundation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris: William Eggleston, Beat Streuli, Bill Viola, Vik Muniz, J.D. ‘Okhai Ojeikere, Pierrick sorin*, Bildmuseet Umea Universitett, Umea, Sweden
*2004: *Joy of Life – two photographers from Africa: Seydou Keita, J.D. ‘Okhai Ojeikere*, Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan
*2004: *Nous Remontons de la "Calle" Toutes les Photographies!*, Galerie du Jour Agnés B., Paris, France
*2004: *La collection d'art contemporain d'Agnès b. Je m'installe aux Abattoirs*, Les Abattoirs – Frac Midi-Pyrénées, Toulouse, France
*2005: *Masterpieces from the Jean Pigozzi Collection*, MFAH Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Houston, TX, USA
*2006: *100% Africa*, Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Spain
*2006: *About Africa Part One: Seydou Keita, Malick Sidbé, Jean-Dominque Burton, Jürgen Schadeberg, J. D. ‘Okhai Ojeikere*, Fifty-One Fine Art Photography, Antwerp, Belgium.
*2006: *Some Tribes*, Christophe Guye Galerie, Zurich, Switzerland
*2008: *Head Room*, Mocca – Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, Toronto, ON
*2009: *Chance Encounters*, Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai
*2009: *70s. Photography and Everyday Life*, Teatro Fernan Gomez, PHotoEspaña, Madrid, Spain (catalogue )
*2009: *70s. Photography and Everyday Life*, Museo D’Arte Provincia di Nuoro, Nuoro, Italy (catalogue )
*2009: *J. D. 'Okhai Ojeikere and Malick Sidibe: Hairdos and Parties- African Typologies*, L. Parker Stephenson Photographs, New York, USA
*2010: *70s. Photography and Everyday Life*, Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporaneo, Seville, Spain (catalogue )
*2010: *70s. Photography and Everyday Life*, Nederlands Fotomuseum, Rotterdam, Netherlands (catalogue )
*2010: *A Midsummer Gallery Soirée*, Hagedorn Foundation Gallery, Atlanta, GA, USA
*2010: *AIPAD – The Photography Show*, L. Parker Stephenson Photographs, Park Avenue Armory, New York, USA
*2010: National Black Arts Festival, Atlanta, GA, USA
*2011: *Becoming: Photographs from the Wedge Collection*, Tate Modern, London, England
*2012: *Africa/Africa*, Abbaya St. André, Centre d'art contemporain de Meymac, Meymac, France
*2013: *Voyage Retour* – Federal Government Press, Broad Street, Lagos, Lagos Island, Nigeria
*2013: *The Encyclopedic Palace* curated by Massimiliano Gioni, The Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy
*2014: *Back to Front*, Mariane Ibrahim Gallery, Seattle, USA
*2014: *Ici l'Afrique*, Château de Penthes, Pregny-Chambésy, France
*2015: *Making Africa - A Continent of Contemporary Design*, Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein, Germany
*2016: *Regarding Africa: Contemporary Art and Afro-Futurism*, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, Israel
*2020: *Through an African Lens: Sub-Saharan Photography from the Museum's Collection*, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston, Texas

## References


## External links
* J.D. Okhai Ojeikere on the African American Visual Artists Database via Internet Archive