In a country where same-sex affection and marriage is criminalised, 23-year-old multidisciplinary creative artist, Alexandra Obochi, is committed to documenting the lives of queer Nigerian women. Obochi is a makeup artist, stylist, photographer, content creator and an NFT artist using fashion as a form of self-expression and autonomy.
In an attempt to further stifle queer and nonconforming people, a bill was introduced in Nigeria’s House of Representatives for the same sex marriage (prohibition) act to be extended to prohibit cross dressing as well. If passed into law, offenders are liable to imprisonment for six months. Despite these roadblocks, Obochi is not fazed. Now more than ever, she is committed to documenting queer women, and queer people in general. She runs curatedbyxandra, a creative studio where she uses her skills to tell visual stories of queer people. Her first NFT collection, colores del amore, tells a story of “two queer Nigerian women struggling to accept themselves in a world that abhors them for simply being queer.”
From the styles to the colours worn, clothing can give us a sense of who a person is. As African children however, this manner of self-expression is not always a right we are afforded. Whether you like it or not, you have to wear what is laid out for you. “I have been interested in fashion since forever but I only started exploring that interest as an adult. It is easy to explore your personal style when you make enough money to buy your clothes yourself,” Obochi reveals.
AMAKA sat down with the multi-talented artist to get an insight into her work.
As you have had the opportunity to explore your style, what do you make of it?
If you asked me this question a couple of years ago, I’d have said that my style is Afrocentric, vintage and retro, but I stopped saying that because it can be limiting. I am a very curious person and I’m not afraid of experimenting styles and themes outside of my comfort zone. I want to be able to say ‘I have actually worn something like this before’.
In my opinion, personal style is not a constant thing, it evolves – you just have to keep exploring. For example, you might see me looking like a Barbie doll today, and tomorrow, I’d be draped in wrappers, looking like my grandmother. Aside from my style, my entire life is influenced by my environment and the things I see.
You are heavily into makeup and beauty. How would you describe your relationship with makeup?
Makeup is always there for me. Like an anchor, it literally holds me up. At the peak of COVID-19 when the entire world was locked in, makeup kept me sane and from slipping into anxiety and depression. How I learned it is actually a bit funny. During my 100-level university break, my mum hounded me to learn handiwork. ‘Every time you come for holiday, you can keep at it’, she insisted, so I chose makeup. Although I was forced to, learning it was immensely fun; to be able to create these amazing looks is always mind blowing.
I have been doing makeup for 7 years and it has never failed me. Just the other day after a stressful week, I told myself that all I needed to do to distress was my makeup. I remember thinking, “I just need to sit down, concentrate and do my makeup”. Whenever I finish my make-up, I feel absolutely gorgeous, and all my problems seem to melt away. All this is to say that my relationship with makeup is great and I hope it remains so.
How did your creative studio, curatedbyxandra, come about?
After learning makeup, I opened an Instagram account, xandrasallure, to showcase my skills. Then in 2021, I learnt photography, and was confused as to what to do. Was I supposed to open another page? How was I supposed to combine it with the rest of my brand? If I open a different page, where do I post each project? These are some of the things that bother you as a multidisciplinary artist. So I decided to open a single page that encapsulates my entire creative persona and that’s how curatedbyxandra came about. It’s curated by me, everything on there is created by me.
Your first NFT collection is a visual story of two queer women struggling to accept themselves. What does centering queer women at the forefront of your career feel like?
Documenting queer Africans has always been my goal. When I was a kid, mainstream media never represented queer people like me, which made me feel inauthentic and untrue to myself. The effect of being accurately represented is immeasurable – it eases your worries because you know and see that you are not alone, that there are people exactly like you. But I didn’t have that growing up, so I wanted to fill that void for young queer Africans.
For my first NFT, I wanted it to be about something I am very passionate about, and sexuality is that. I wanted to put that out into the world, to say ‘This is who I am and this is what I do’. I love styling and photographing queer Nigerians. A lot of them reveal that they have never had a photo shoot that captures them in their essence like mine does and when the photos come out, their joy is usually palpable. I love that I am able to give them that. Documenting queer Africans is a fulfilling job that I’m always happy to do.
Colores del amore is part of a bigger work – project CELEBRATING QUEERS. Please walk us through the project, from idealisation to execution.
Project CELEBRATING QUEERS was my first as a photographer after a few months of learning. In 2020, I was dabbling with my mobile phone, but in February 2021, I got a camera and officially began. The project was my first major move to highlight and celebrate queer people in Nigeria. The idea came from the necessary need for me to create representation for my own people in my corner of the internet.
It can be challenging to find people who are willing to let me photograph them and share their pictures openly, but it's not impossible; some people indicate an interest. The photographs I have so far are the ones I have been sharing and using to apply for grants to be able to further my work. The goal this year is to photograph trans people in Nigeria, and I hope I am able to accomplish this.
For your latest NFT project, The Tale of an African Creative, you divulged that the beauty supply store feels like home and where you go to become a better version of yourself. Do you have any particular beauty store experience you would like to share?
I like this one. When I still had dreads, I wanted to dye them grey, so I went to this beauty store to buy the dye. If you are familiar with dye, you know that immediately when it’s added to your hair, it gets hot. That’s how you know it is working. With this particular dye however, I felt nothing. Just as I guessed, after the first wash, it didn’t do anything – my hair colour remained the same. So I went back to the seller to file my complaint. I said, ‘See o, my hair no gree dye. Wetin we go do?’. She said I was supposed to apply the dye twice and suggested that I try it one more time. At this time, the bad dye was already damaging my hair but for the benefit of doubt, I tried it a second a time. My hair still didn’t budge. I was furious.
I went back to the store and requested for a refund but she was very uncouth and insisted that the fault is from the manufacturer, hence, won’t give my money back to me. It was a beauty supply store selling a variety of hair products so I seized about six bundles of human hair and threatened to not let them go until she refunded me. My anger wasn’t particularly about the money I spent buying the dye. I understand that there might be a mishap on the part of the manufacturer, but as a business owner, you should know how to pacify aggrieved customers. Anyway, it escalated into a full-blown argument that people had to step in to calm things down. She was clearly wrong so everyone insisted that she refunded me. I got my money back and returned the hair I confiscated. It was definitely not amusing that day but looking back now, it makes me laugh.
On ups and downs, what would you say is the hardest part of being an African creative and what would you say is the most exhilarating part of it?
It’s kind of ironic that the answer to both questions [is] the same. As a Nigerian creative, you do not have the opportunity to create as you wish. Getting things like props, and locations to shoot are all a hassle and can be limitations to my creativity. The exhilarating part is being able to bring my idea to life in spite of all the hurdles. As a creative, there’s a sense of fulfilment seeing your finished work gives you.