I’m always in pursuit of groundbreaking voices in photography — artists who not only capture moments but invite us to rethink our perceptions of reality and art and push the boundaries of our societal norms and expectations. It is in this spirit that I had the profound pleasure of conversing with Isabel Okoro, a remarkably talented member of our PhotoVogue community and a participant in the PhMuseum 2023 Women Photographers Grant.
Isabel, a visionary in her own right, has crafted a unique visual realm in her project Constructing Eternity. In our conversation, she delves into the depths of this creation, exploring themes of identity, hope, and the boundless realms of imagination. Her work, a mesmerizing blend of the real and the fantastical, transcends traditional narratives, presenting a universe where the African diaspora isn t just seen but is celebrated in a cosmic dance of color, culture, and creativity.
In Constructing Eternity, Isabel invites us to witness a world where young Black individuals are not merely subjects but are active participants in shaping their destiny against a backdrop of ethereal landscapes. This body of work is a testament to the power of photography as a tool for storytelling, activism, and cultural introspection.
Join us as we delve into this extraordinary world, where every photograph is not just an image but a gateway to a realm of infinite possibilities.
AG: Your project Constructing Eternity presents a unique visual universe. Can you share what initially inspired you to create this world and what Eternity represents to you personally?
IO: I like to say that Eternity revealed itself to me. For a while, around 2019, I was making a lot of work that included similar motifs like the sun, the moon, and young Black people enjoying natural space. In 2020, I revisited Solange s When I get Home album and was inspired by her approach to world-building; she created her own world through that album and the associated short film. At the same time, in 2020, with COVID the global fight for Black Freedom, I had to find hope in my creativity. After spending time looking back at my archives and seeing a lot of common threads, I intentionally decided to build Eternity as a personal practice of activism, one where I challenged myself to consider everything around me and dare to dream it differently. Eternity represents my desire to develop and share stories in my own way, by virtue of my own imagination.
AG: In Constructing Eternity, you mention that the work involves real human stories alongside fictional ideas. How do you balance these elements to create a cohesive narrative?
IO: Eternity is extremely grounded in reality in the sense that the stories I m telling through this world are either inspired by my lived experiences, or the ones of those around me. One of the best parts about being an artist is the ability to drive your personal narrative in really interesting ways. I approach developing Eternity as a writer would approach a novel - they build the world and set the tone, then decide what story is important to tell. By allowing Eternity to sit freely on the pendulum between reality and fiction, I m giving myself an opportunity to connect with my community while encouraging the act of free, radical thinking. Balancing the reality with the fiction comes easy to me, because I ve made a mental distinction where the reality deals with the innate humanity of the population and the core of the stories I m trying to tell, while the fiction is more so in terms of the space, its specific characteristics and the context in which the population navigates the space.
AG: Your first monograph, Friends in Eternity, focuses on Black life across the diaspora. What drove you to explore this theme, and how do you feel it connects with the broader narrative of Constructing Eternity ?
IO: I wanted to make Friends in Eternity because it was really important for me to archive my ideas in a physical way. I had just started developing and ideating Eternity, and it was a self-created platform that would allow me to convince other people of this idea I came up with in my room. For example, the book includes a conversation with my friend, Bunmi Agusto, who is also a world-builder developing Within . In the conversation, Bunmi and I compared and contrasted both of our visual universes and that taught me how to speak about Eternity and my specific approach to world building.
Although I wasn t thinking about it in this way at the time, the monograph is basically my personal collection of references. It is the core foundational visual library for Eternity, and for Constructing Eternity , I found myself going back to the book to reference the imagery I d created.
AG: Can you tell us more about the process of selecting and positioning your friends and loved ones against backdrops in Friends in Eternity ? How did these choices contribute to your vision of Eternity?
IO: With Friends in Eternity, it was a mix of spontaneous and staged moments. At the core of the project was a desire to immortalize my loved ones and so I tried not to think too much about it. Most times, I would invite a few friends to a location and take photos of them enjoying the space. Other times, I would have a specific story that I wanted to see play out. It all goes back to that pendulum of reality and fiction, combining both in such a way where the lines are blurred and it becomes its own new, alternate version of events.
One of the biggest things I learnt in the process of making the book was that I was drawn to water, and in further developing Eternity, water now has a prominent role in the creation of space and the characteristics of certain communities within Eternity.
AG: In your work, you introduce regions like Dreaming, Luna Mira, Angelus, and Santa Daeze. How did you conceptualize these areas, and what do they symbolize within the context of Eternity?
IO: Moving on from the monograph, the next step for me in world-building was to develop specific spaces and attach a narrative to each one. The regions in Eternity came to me over the course of the past two years, during times I spent in Lagos, Toronto Mexico City. I was inspired by music, film my day-to-day reality. For example, Luna Mira was inspired by the song Afro Blue by Robert Glasper Erykah Badu. Santa Daeze came to me because I wanted something inspired by my upbringing; one of my names is Adaeze, and I grew up in a Catholic household.
AG: As an artist, how do you see your role in shaping and reflecting societal narratives, especially considering the impactful nature of your work?
IO: Art offers us a platform to rewrite narratives and amplify what we consider to be our personal truths. I believe in the power that art has to change the world and reflect the times but also dream beyond it. I start by looking inwards and being extremely intentional about the stories I choose to tell, which are stories of the beyond . Where we can arrive beyond the now, beyond our specific realities, beyond the expectations of what it means to be the correct type of human being. I dream of the spaces we can occupy beyond the complexities of this world.
AG: Constructing Eternity seems to be a continuous, evolving project. What future developments or expansions can we expect to see in this universe?
IO: Now that I have developed the core regions, the next step for me in this project is to develop a collection of specific stories that visualize the ways that the population of Eternity interact with themselves and the space around them. I m currently in the early stages of ideating my next monograph, and hope it will provide viewers with a more thorough depiction of this space.
At the same time, I m developing more short films based in Eternity. Moving images allow me to combine various mediums and satisfy more human senses. Currently, I have 2 short films based specifically in Eternity - the other side of Dreaming, and everything is possible under the wonderful moon which has set the tone for what s to come.
AG: Your work powerfully contributes to the representation of the African narrative. Have you noticed any significant changes in how this narrative is portrayed in the contemporary art world? Based on your experience and observation, what aspects do you believe are still lacking or need more attention and exploration?
IO: Yes. Over the last two years, I feel like more African artists are being given platforms to tell their stories and share elements of the narratives they are developing. I believe we are getting to a point where there s a diversity in the type of African stories being platformed, and artists are fighting against being boxed in.
I still believe there s a lot of work to be done, and for me it starts from the work behind the scenes. I would like to see more African galleries representing African artists and taking our work to fairs. I would like to see more art residency opportunities for African artists, especially those based on the continent.
AG: Finally, do you have any advice or insights for emerging artists who aspire to create their own distinct visual universes?
IO: The first step is to start - we should all be dreaming beyond our world. Think about the things you feel are missing around you, things you would do differently, things you love but would want to elevate, and then create something that tackles these ideas. World-building can be done in so many ways - with sound, words, visuals, physical objects etc. Don t feel any pressure to conform to a certain standard. That s why it s yours!
