Nana Yaw Oduro

Nana Yaw Oduro (1994) is a Ghanaian photographer. Quotes I’ve always described my art as a reflection of self—delving into boyhood, adulthood, and the journey toward self-acceptance For me, art is inherently progressive, and in my practice, this evolution is unmistakable I firmly believe, and I’m confident many would agree, that there is no better tool for cultural preservation The world is now able to partake in the richness that surrounds us, including the distinctive artistry of African photography In conversation : Nana Yaw ODURO and the hidden tales of boyhood n.d I have always wanted to communicate feelings to the world and let other people feel my emotions too I prefer to work with and shoot people I know, because I believe they understand me better and have an idea of how I like things Personally the pandemic has been quite positive for me Interview: Ghanaian Photographer Nana Yaw Oduro On Self-Acceptance & Visualising Poetry 5 August 2021 My environment plays a big role in shaping me, so I am more drawn to having elements of that in my work, referencing the people who have shared experiences with me, and that is typically men Coming from a family where I’m the only artist, sometimes I share feelings and ideas that may not be understood by all, but it also gives me a sense of awakening of who I am As an artist, I’ve grown to appreciate the different perspectives and interpretations people have when they look at my work It would be death for me as an artist to play by the rules of mass consumption and fast production today because my work is emotional, personal, and I have to feel deeply and get a cause to move me NANA YAW ODURO n.d I have always been fascinated with stories, even before I started taking photos, because I was a writer first I consider it a great image if what I envisioned prior to shooting is in line to what comes out I put composition above everything else I believe our environment plays a huge part in our identity, to our power to adjust, our belongingness, and realities Everything around us plays a part in making us whole Growing up, I realized I picked an unexplainable interest in really old things, things that were in existence far before me How Nana Yaw Oduro Creates Photos You Can’t Look Away From n.d Photography gives me a conscious sense of self and awareness I am passionate about telling stories, which I used to do a lot through writing. But then I found photography a more exciting and diverse way Social media is quite a big part of art promotion now Just capture that thing you want to. And if you don’t stop, you get better Everything needs to be seen and exposed! We still haven’t seen nor experienced everything yet Nana Yaw Oduro: Artists Inside The Industry 6 October 2019 Society tells us we shouldn’t behave in some ways, but nobody has the right to dictate how boys should be I wasn’t seen as “manly” enough People feel threatened when you have a kind of softness, when you embrace that; it becomes a problem because it’s not conventional You should not be held up by somebody else’s ideas of who you should be. Accept your soft side You don’t need that toxic masculinity to show you’re powerful; you don’t have to succumb. I was inspired to be an artist not because of images. I was inspired because I read poems I don’t have to wait for somebody to come and tag my work as art Where I’m from, everything is color. Houses are colorful, cars are colorful. Everything is contrast, because the sun hits every surface really hard. So, growing up, you have this visual intelligence already I’m trying to communicate an idea, feelings, thoughts — but it has to be beautiful also, like, visually pleasant If you don’t know how, then maybe you don’t just don’t have it. I believe my images are basically poetry, and I think poetry is the greatest thing in the world I have never been a fan of explaining my work. Everything is about perspective, and the way you see art is definitely not the way I’m going to see my work Nana Yaw Oduro’s vibrant photographs are a study of Black male softness 20 May 2022 I used to write a lot, but I feel that people don’t really read much these days. So I decided photography gave me a more visual way to communicate and gave me something tangible to show for it I’d say my photography is a lot to do with feelings, actions, and bold colors The photography of Nana Yaw Oduro Examines feelings, actions and bold colours n.d I thought I had to share to make room for more, to create the ideas I have imagined in my head. I think that’s the essence of birthing: putting something out, something you believe in, or something you believe should be I believe in the coming years I’m going to cross boundaries, gain further recognition and land on the bigger walls I’ve already dreamed of The Ghanaian photographer discusses masculinity, boyhood and the support from his local community 15 February 2020 Category:1994 births Category:Photographers Category:Living people