De money series no. 1

George Osodi, Nigerian, born 1974

De money series no. 1

De money series no. 1 illustrates twelve young men precariously mining on the edge of a mountain in Nigeria. The men appear almost like cave paintings, two-dimensionally floating upon the rock. Osodi forces the audience to consider how these men’s social situations tip with the same amount of fragility. Such dangerous work speaks volumes of the desperation these young men must face to search for gold in this manner. This work is part of a series that depicts the dangers of illegal mining and oil extraction in Nigeria. Label by Katie Lee

Gas Flare

George Osodi, Nigerian, born 1974

Gas Flare (from the series Oil Rich Niger Delta), 2006

This photograph by George Osodi titled Gas Flare depicts one of the many inhabitants of Nigeria whom he describes as “real people” impacted by the oil industry. It shows a young boy drinking water in front of a gas flare where tapioca is dried in Utorogun - an area in the Niger Delta region. Gas flares in this region are dangerous because they take away domestic and industrial energy needed in Nigeria. The photograph is powerful in its blunt display of what is happening in Nigeria. In a different way, this image is also particularly intriguing because you can’t necessarily point out any distinct features of the young boy or find any particular ways of identifying the image. In this way, the audience is given the opportunity to apply whatever idea/meaning upon this young man’s silhouette that seems fitting. This can be both useful and destructive, but it is an interesting way of approaching this piece. Label by Callie Sties

This image depicts a young boy drinking water in Utarogon in the Niger Delta region. The flames behind him are the result of a gas flare from the extensive oil drilling that occurs in the region. The boy is clearly young, evident even only in silhouette, and his demeanor appears to be composed. This image highlights the resignation of many people against the incessant environmental damage, as the boy is not running or bracing himself from the flames. Children in this area have no control over the oil that is harvested in their own communities. Their lives and environments are under the control of others that they do not know, and the financial and political benefits reaped from such endeavors do not return to them, or their families. The fires in this image literally obscure the humanity of the boy, leaving him as a shadowy figure, pushed into darkness by the flames that burn in the background. This figuratively demonstrates the impact of oil drilling on the lived experiences of those who live in regions highly overrun by the politics of Big Oil and the exploitation of natural environments for financial gain. Adults, regardless of national origin or political affiliation, are unable to remove themselves from the implications of the environmental impacts of our global hunger for oil when it is made clear that children are the victims of such degradation. Label by Gwyneth McCrae

Gas Flare comes from a series of photographs by George Osodi interested in exposing the human and environmental consequences of neglect in the Niger Delta region. It is situated in Utorogun and was taken at a place where tapioca is normally dried. The photo, taken at a gas-flaring site, juxtaposes the dark silhouette of a boy drinking water against the bright, enormous flames of a gas flare—a sharp contrast, layering the human that will face challenges in accessing energy for domestic needs with the chaos of oil-prospecting for the sake of energy production. While documentary, the image’s visual paradox also hints at the photographer’s empathy with his subject, one of the “real people” threatened by the Niger Delta oil industry’s increasing incompatibility with life. Label by Hannah London

Smoking Pipe

George Osodi, Nigerian, born 1974

Smoking Pipe (from the series Oil Rich Niger Delta), 2007

In the article “Pale Reflections and Fables of Life: George Osodi’s Real People of the Niger Delta” (2010), art historian Frank A. O. Ugiomoh features multiple works of George Osodi. Smoking Pipe is one particular photograph showing two young men on a motorbike riding past a thick cloud of smoke from an oil pipeline explosion in Ogoniland, Nigeria. The surrounding environment looks uprooted as if it would be desolate. However, there are evidently people inhabiting the space. The men in the photograph are riding away from the site of the explosion. They appear relatively unbothered and their attention is away from the smoke. This creates an image as though the black clouds are somewhat ordinary and just another part of the landscape. Osodi captures how a shocking and terrifying event can be normal from other perspectives such as those who have been exposed to unhealthy amounts of oil pollution in the Niger Delta for a number of years. Label by Jordan Stofko

De Money

George Osodi, Nigerian, born 1974

De Money, 2009

This is one image from a series of photographs by Osodi called “De Money,” an exhibition detailing the back-breaking labor of workers in their steady search for “gold” or “de money.” I thought this particular photo was a startling example of the paradoxical nature of the mining industry in Africa; as Rotinwa aptly puts it, there’s “deprivation amidst plenty.” Locals in the Niger Delta are sitting on a wealth of resources, but are forced to work at the vicious bidding of mining corporations who strip the landscape of their natural beauty and trap residents in a vicious cycle of poverty and pollution. In his shockingly frank photojournalism, Osodi leaves little to the viewer’s imagination, but is still able to convey the strength of human resilience and determination in the face of capitalism and corruption. In short, Osodi treats his subjects as survivors, not victims. Label by Tara Vasanth