Uche Okpa-Iroha

“I use my photographs to raise awareness 

with the public and policy makers on socio-­

economic and political issues. Hence, I regard my

photos as petitions presented to those who are in

positions of authority to make desirable changes

that will positively affect the common man in

Nigeria. My work, therefore, are interventions in the

social, economic and political space in my country.”

Uche Okpa-Iroha was born in 1972 in Enugu, Nigeria. He is a photographer but also experiments with other art disciplines like painting and video art. He was spurred to go into photography after visiting an exhibition by the Nigerian Collective, the Depth of Field (DOF) in London 2005 – this made him realize that photography can be a form of art.

His interest is based purely on humanity and he likes to report the essence of human conditions in pictures that will inform and clarify the mind of the onlooker (the viewer). Uche goes close to his subjects, always trying to initiate some kind of dialogue. He tries to be involved in the situations he find himself in and thus having a sense of social responsibility to effect change.

Uche is a founding member of the Nigerian photography group known as Blackbox photography collective and a leading member of the Invisible Borders Trans African Photography travel.

He has exhibited his work within and outside Nigeria – including in New York, Paris, and Berlin. Uche has  won the Seydou Keita Prize for the best photography creation at the 8th Bamako Encounters and was nominated for the Jean Paul Blachere Foundation Prize, the Prix Pictet award “Growth” in 2010 and the National Geographic All Roads Photography Programme in 2011.