For emerging Nigerian photographer Chukwudi Nwachukwu, photography is increasingly becoming more than the act of making an image. Working between Abia and Rivers State, Nwachukwu is interested in people, their environments and the stories that can easily disappear when nobody considers them important enough to preserve.
His recently completed series, Soft Bodies, Hard World, photographed between 2023 and 2024, turns his attention towards women and the social expectations placed upon them. Through staged but restrained portraiture, Nwachukwu explores vulnerability, strength and the limitations imposed on women within patriarchal societies.
Still developing his photographic language, he speaks about storytelling, gaining the trust of his subjects, experimenting with light and emotion, his early influences, and his ambition to eventually see his photographs travel far beyond the environments in which they were made.
Bomi: You have said that you began photography because you wanted to tell and preserve stories people might otherwise never know. Where did that instinct come from, and when did photography become more than simply making images for you?
Chukwudi: I have always believed that everyone has a story to tell. Sometimes we look at people every day without actually knowing what they have experienced or what has shaped them. For me, those stories are like a goldmine because years from now they can tell another generation something about how people lived and what inspired them.
That was one of the things that attracted me to photography. I realised I could use my images to tell stories that people might never have known about and also preserve those stories. At some point, photography stopped being only about making a nice image for me. I started asking myself what the photograph was actually saying and what someone could take away from it after seeing it.
Bomi: Your work at this stage seems particularly interested in people and what their faces can communicate. What draws you towards portraiture?
Chukwudi: I think it is the emotion for me. I am interested in people’s faces and the feelings you can see there, even when they are not saying anything.
When I was making Soft Bodies, Hard World, that became very important. Sometimes I would look at my subject and see an expression that already communicated something before I even took the photograph. I wanted the viewer to see that too. I like the idea that somebody can look at one of my photographs and relate to the person even without knowing them personally. That connection is something I am still trying to understand and develop in my work.
Bomi: Soft Bodies, Hard World looks at women within a conversation about patriarchy, vulnerability and social limitation. Why did you feel the need to make this project?
Chukwudi: It came from looking at the society around me and seeing how many women are determined, intelligent and powerful but can still be limited because of certain societal norms and beliefs.
There are expectations about what women should do, how they should behave and sometimes even how much of a voice they are allowed to have. I wanted to use my art to talk about that.
The project was not about saying women are weak. It was actually the opposite. I was interested in how women can carry strength while still existing inside systems that limit them. I wanted the photographs to make people think about that and hopefully understand why women should be given the opportunity to contribute fully to society.
Bomi: The photographs are staged, yet many of them don’t feel heavily performed. How do you balance constructing a portrait with allowing the person in front of the camera to remain themselves?
Chukwudi: Before I photograph someone, I like to talk to them. I explain what I am working on, what I am trying to communicate and why I want them to be part of it.
Even if I already have an idea of the photograph I want to make, I don’t want the person to feel like they have to become somebody else just because there is a camera in front of them.
So there can be staging in terms of where I position someone, the composition or what I am trying to create, but I still give them freedom. I watch what happens naturally as they become comfortable. Sometimes what the subject gives you is even better than the exact picture you had imagined before the shoot.
Bomi: You have mentioned that some of the women initially held back or became uncomfortable in front of the camera. How important is trust when you’re making a portrait?
Chukwudi: It is very important because I realised during this project that you cannot force somebody to be vulnerable for your photograph. Some people are naturally camera shy. Once they see the camera, they become conscious of themselves, and you can see it in their face and body.
That was one of the difficulties I had while making the project. I had to spend time talking to some of my subjects and making them understand what we were doing. When they became comfortable, the photographs became better because they were no longer thinking so much about the camera. That taught me that photographing somebody is not just about knowing your camera or having the right light. The relationship you create with the person matters too.
Bomi: There is quite a bit of experimentation in Soft Bodies, Hard World, from the black-and-white portraits to warmer and more stylised colour photographs. What were you discovering about your own visual language?
Chukwudi: At that point I was still experimenting a lot. I was experimenting with my camera, with light, composition and especially emotions. I don’t think I wanted to restrict myself by saying every photograph had to look exactly the same. Some emotions felt stronger to me in black and white, while with some of the other photographs I wanted the warmth and colour to become part of what the viewer feels.
I was still learning what worked for me. Even now, I think experimenting is important because that is how you discover what actually belongs to you. You try things, you make mistakes, you look at the photographs again and gradually you begin to understand the kind of images you want to make.
Bomi: You have mentioned Sodiq Adelakun as one of your early photographic inspirations, while your own environment also seems important to what you photograph. How are you learning from other photographers without simply reproducing their work?
Chukwudi: Sodiq Adelakun was definitely one of my early inspirations. Seeing the work of photographers I admired showed me what was possible with photography and made me want to take my own work more seriously. But I also realised that I have my own environment and my own experiences. I grew up around stories and people that another photographer may not have access to in the same way I do. So I can be inspired by how another photographer uses the camera or tells a story, but eventually I have to look around me. I have to ask myself what I want to say and why I am the person telling that story.
I am still discovering my style. I don’t think that is something I can force. I believe it will become clearer as I continue making work.
Bomi: Before this series, you had already made individual fine-art photographs. What changed when you started thinking about photography as a body of work rather than individual pictures?
Chukwudi: It made me think differently. With a single photograph, I can have an idea, create the photograph and let that one image communicate it. But when I started working on a series, I had to think about how different photographs could still be having the same conversation.
Soft Bodies, Hard World took me from 2023 into 2024, so I was able to return to the idea instead of making everything at once. Different women could bring different emotions into the project, but they still had to connect to what I was trying to say.
That made me more interested in creating bodies of work. I realised that one photograph can tell you something, but several photographs can allow you to explore a story from different sides.
Bomi: You are still building your career, but you already speak about wanting the work to travel beyond your immediate environment. Where do you ultimately want photography to take you?
Chukwudi: I want to grow my craft and career to a national and international stage. I want to make photographs that have an impact and tell stories people can connect with, regardless of where they are from. I would love to see these works exhibited. I want people to come into a gallery and actually stand in front of the photographs. I want to see the work at festivals, in print and in places I never expected it to reach. I also want to be able to sell my work and talk about the stories behind it. Even if that eventually takes my photography beyond Africa, that is something I want to experience. I know I am still building and learning, but I believe the work can take me there.
