Ollie Tikare’s ‘modern and empathetic’ portrait of life in Lagos

As a British-Nigerian, Lagos has always held an allure for photographer Ollie Tikare. Growing up in the UK, his father and sister lived in the city but Tikare never had the opportunity to visit, so it remained “distant yet palpable presence”, a semi-mythical place in his imagination, constructed from passed-down anecdotal information and fragments of tales. “I often heard stories from them or other family members – some filled with nostalgia, others tinged with caution. Many warned me about the dangers of the city: how I shouldn’t walk around, trust strangers, or engage too openly.”

When he did finally make this first much-anticipated trip in 2023, Lagos had a profound effect on him. “The experience felt surreal,” he tells Dazed, “almost like a pilgrimage. I think many POCs in Britain would relate to the feeling of making that first trip ‘back’ to the fatherland or motherland. But what makes Lagos feel like a home away from home to me isn’t just my heritage – it’s my uncle and my young cousins as well as my friend Tosin who hosts me when I visit. They all make me feel so welcome, and I love that.”

Having experienced the city in all these ways – remotely and at first-hand, unknown yet familiar, via the recollections of others and his own anticipations and hopes, as a fantasy and a reality –  really brought home to him how limited the depictions of Lagos in Western mainstream media are. Viewed through the prism of neo-colonialism, the city is often presented “through a sensationalist and reductive lens, suggesting that Lagos is either a place of extreme poverty or extravagant wealth, with little in between”.

My aim was to offer a modern, empathetic, and celebratory portrait of life in Lagos – one that challenges prevailing stereotypes around masculinity, safety, and modernity while highlighting the resilience, creativity, and diversity of Lagosians – Ollie Tikare

Shot over two visit so far, with another trip planned for next year, Tikare began creating the photo series Èkó with the guiding principle of redressing this narrow vision of Lagos and its people. He explains, “My aim was to offer a modern, empathetic, and celebratory portrait of life in Lagos – one that challenges prevailing stereotypes around masculinity, safety, and modernity while highlighting the resilience, creativity, and diversity of Lagosians. Given the increasing focus on decolonisation and the Black gaze in contemporary photography, I hope this series encourages meaningful conversations, challenges preconceptions, and allows those who might see Lagos as distant or unfamiliar to connect with it on a more human level.”

As an ongoing a body of work, Èkó aleady amounts to over 200 pictures. No wonder Tikare has been so prolific, presented with the city’s extraordinary abundance of beauty. Yet, while some of the pictures are almost unfeasably beautiful, they’re not staged. He admires the ‘Afro-surrealist’ approach of creating dreamlike, hyper-constructed images, but he affirms that “this project lives in the world of ‘Afro-realism’ – I’m drawn to the everyday, the spontaneous, and the unscripted moments that speak to the city’s true essence.” His pictures are impromptu reactions to the world around him. He says, “I love staged photography and often enjoy creating images that feel staged even when they aren’t. But, with Lagos, there is so much for the eyes to feast on, why stage anything? Beyond portraiture, I was drawn to Lagos’ textures and colours. The city’s rich, vibrant palette is constantly clashing with its visible decay, and I found myself exploring more abstract ways of documenting that – focusing on details, surfaces, and compositions that reflect the tension and beauty of the city.”

What is also striking – almost tangible – when looking through these photographs is the feeling of energy they convey. There’s a vivacity that seems to animate these portraits – something beyond the quality of golden light and the irresistible colours of the cityscape. Èkó is vibrating with vitality. “Lagos has an energy unlike anywhere else in the world. It’s not just a buzz – it’s more like a loud bang, a constant, electric force that fuels the city. And it’s not just about the traffic or the nightlife,” Tikare explains. “Lagosians have an incredible sense of determination, entrepreneurialism, and most of all, humour. There’s a relentless optimism and hustle culture – the glass is always half full.”

Maybe it’s this Lagosian spirit which is animating Tikare‘s photographs. He concludes: “The British sense of politeness doesn’t always work [in Lagos]. If you want to be heard, you have to assert yourself. You have to fight fire with fire. That in itself is something I find quite hilarious – you can’t afford to be passive in Lagos, but once you learn how to move with the city’s rhythm, it’s exhilarating.”

Visit the gallery above for a closer look.