James Iroha Uchechukwu
James Iroha Uchechukwu is a Nigerian photographer. He was born in 1972 in Enugu. He is known for his photography, his support to young photographers, and the passing on of his knowledge to the young. He is also regarded at the beginning of the 21st century as someone that has broadened the horizon of Nigerian photography. Study and career. Uchechukwu started to study sculpture in 1990 at the Art Academy of the University of Port Harcourt. He obtained his degree in 1996, and directly afterwards continued study in what is now his current profession, photography. In his  work, Uchechukwu melts together the reproduction of common reality with the creative 'language' of the imagination, whereby he extends the possibilities of photography and is giving a new direction to local art. He is cofounder of Depth of Field (DOF), a collective of photographers, artist, and painters. He took the initiative to bring together six talented young photographers to form DOF. He organized several exhibitions of their work in Nigeria as well as abroad. He also teaches photography by giving seminars and workshops. In 2004 Uchechukwu presented a series of award winning photo's on butcher's shops in the  open air in Lagos, with the name "Fire, Flesh and Blood". The photo series initially had a documentary character, but got the public's attentions as well because of its artistic mélange of colorful and smokey close-ups. The 2008 jury of the Prince Claus Fund describes the photo series as "intense, cru, powerful and poetic. In 2005 Uchechukwu received the Élan Price on the African Photography Encounters in Mali for his work "Fire, Flesh and Blood". In 2008 he was honored with a Prince Claus Award from the Netherlands. Personal life. Uche is a Christian, he met and married  his wife Chinwe in 2007. Exhibitions. Uchechukwu participated in several exhibitions. Here follows a selection: