UCHE JAMES IROHA
Born 1972, Enuga, Nigeria
Uche studied sculpture at the University of port Harcourt art school in Nigeria, graduating with honors, and started taking photographs in 1996. He works closely with a network of likeminded photographers and painters working to promote photography and to improve the perception of photographers and photography in Nigeria. Lagos, just like any major City, provides a huge whirlpool of elements to explore, and in that sense Uche tries photographically to harness the strict organizational discipline beneath the visual chaos that greets any onlooker.
The work leads Uche to construct or set up performances that are captured still; the artist employ text and use of graphics on image surfaces to find a sculptural accent in his work, in the attempt to address certain issues both socially and generally.
With regards to technique, Uche’s approach is largely construction and deconstruction of the visual plane: trying to find the relationship and the workability between two and three dimensional design.
Uche is currently a director at photo. Garage, a company that provides logistics as well as offers an indigenous platform for domestic and global intellectual photography exchanges. His exhibitions have been
shown globally.
Not for Export.
The general idea of the work is quite simple. I have lined up people in a semi-constructed manner to mirror back to the audience especially Africans: HUMAN RESOURCES the most important resources they have but unfortunately most neglected. most leaders in the continent have been drawn by greed as they leech on the petroleum deposits (a very viable commodity in an energy challenged world thereby creating artificial poverty inspired by evident corruption). This makes living a big challenge for most Africans who now feel and decide to leave their countries to Europe and america in search of a better life. In turn we have global issues of illegal immigration
and labour misplacement.
Works
Selected Exhibitions & Projects
Selected Exhibitions
| “Chance Encounters” Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai India | 2009 | |
| “Travesia” Centro atlantico De arte morderno Spain | 2008 | |
| “16 African photographers” mOAD san francisco USA | 2006 | |
| “Belief” The singapore biennale, Singapore | 2006 | |
| “Unhomely”, seville biennale, Spain | 2006 | |
| “Snap Judgments”- I.C.P New York | 2006 | |
| “25 African photographers” - CCCB, Spain | 2006 | |
| “Convergences”- Nigerian National Gallery Lagos | 2005 | |
| “Autre monde”- NAWAO Kornhausforum, Switzerland | 2005 | |
| “After the fact”-Berlin photography festival, Berlin, G | 2005 | |
| ‘African photo biennial - Bamako, Mali | 2005 | |
| “Depth of field”-South London Gallery, UK | 2005 | |
| “Depth of field”-Open air Gallery, Liverpool UK | 2005 | |
| ‘Lagos’- Ifa Galleries. Stuttgart | 2004 | |
| “Transfers” - Africalia, brussels, Belgium. | 2003 | |
| ‘Lagos Inside’ – french Cultural Centre, Lagos | 2003 | |
| ‘En Direct a bamako’ – Fnac. Paris | 2002 | |
| ‘African photo biennial’ - Bamako, Mali | 2001 | |
| ‘Eleven photographers’ - Goethe Institute Lagos | 2001 | |
| ‘Golden Jubilee Exhibition’, NIIA, Lagos. | 2001 | |
| ‘Art Expo’, Elf Village, port Harcourt. | 2001 | |
| ‘Black & White’, mydrim Gallery, Lagos | 2000 | |
| ‘Aisec art Expo’ shell Club, port Harcourt | 1995 |
Solo Exhibitions
| Fire, flesh & blood “Prince Claus fund Amsterdam | 2008 | |
| “Gathering” Galerie samuel Claude Paris. | 2006 | |
| ‘Indices’- Goethe Institute, Lagos | 2004 | |
| ‘Dare to Care’- Africalert, London | 2003 |
Prizes & Awards
AFD award 2005 - African photography festival - Mali
PRINCE CLAUS aWARD 2008. amsterdam
