J. Sybylla Smith, In Conversation with Mikael Owunna
Episode #7 Summary:
As a Nigerian/Swedish queer photographer, an engineer and Fulbright scholar, Mikael Owunna initiated a six year, ten country journey to encounter and engage with other LGBTQ Africans.
Episode Notes
Owunna initiated a six year, ten country journey to encounter and engage with other LGBTQ Africans. Fifty people offered confidence and validation, creating an ever-expanding synergy of co-creation in this bold and beautiful portrait series. This visibility project which became the book Limitless Africans, and an IN #, offered a place to belong. The chapter structure is grounded within the four Igbo market days, each representing their historical division of time and space, honoring the cardinal directions.
In this book group, Owunna discusses, among other things:
Historic context framing his work
Discovering and claiming his identity
A voice for the people photographed, some looking for political asylum
Researching the place of origin of this homophobic belief system
His next body of work - Infinite Essence
Transcendence, reclamation and embodiment
Referenced in the episode
History of LGBT Social Movements
POC women, transgender, gender non-conforming photographers
Black Liberation Organization - ongoing updated, accepting donations
Published by FotoEvidence