How Nana Yaw Oduro Creates Photos You Can’t Look Away From
How Nana Yaw Oduro Creates Photos You Can’t Look Away From
Delsey Paris x VISUALPLEASURE
NEW HORIZONS - WORLD TOUR 2024
West AfRICAN Artist of the week - Nana Yaw Oduro
Name:
Delsey Paris x VISUALPLEASURE
NEW HORIZONS - WORLD TOUR 2024
West AfRICAN Artist of the week - Nana Yaw Oduro
Photography:
Nana Yaw Oduro
Words:
Erica Nichols
Photographer Nana Yaw Oduro doesn’t think too hard on the ‘how’ or ‘why’ of capturing an image. Instead, he lets the scene remain mostly untouched, bringing in bold color, people, or props to work around the space and create a new kind of harmonic narrative. Discover more about his process and what he created for our DELSEY Paris collaboration.
What first drew you to portrait photography and how did you develop your style over time?
Nana Yaw Oduro: I have always been fascinated with stories, even before I started taking photos, because I was a writer first. I believe portraiture gives a closer, deeper view into beings and things, so it was always the best medium. With my style of photography, I believe it’s seen a few transitions. At every point in time, I sensed a few changes in my direction and ideas, which I embraced and explored. Of course, to discover this, it all comes with consistent work. You shape and reshape. What has been constant though is the focus on skin and color. I like to represent my reality, environment, and experience. Where I’m from, there’s so much color and contrast around, you can’t help but fall in love with it.
What, to you, are the most important elements of capturing a great photo?
Composition. The framing and how you capture everything — the tiny details that need to be there to make the photograph whole. And having a defined concept is key for that, being aware of your environment. I consider it a great image if what I envisioned prior to shooting is in line to what comes out. Once there’s energy from the image, and great composition, that’s what does it for me.
What draws you to using color and composition?
I put composition above everything else. For me, that is the core quality of a distinct image. When I’m setting up in a natural environment, I don’t burden myself with questions of why everything is where they are. I like to think everything is right where they’re supposed to be at any given time. My work is to find the perfect spot that can work for my image. I don’t like to move too much. I’d rather add and invite if need be. It could be a fruit or a bucket or a bird — I create to fit the natural environment, not the other way around. I believe those tiny bits of nature add so much to my work and amplifies the realness.
On color, it’s a similar story. Everything around me is so colorful — it’s just our way of life here. And I believe it’s better to reflect that as a distinct part of my work. I like the natural color of things, so I look for what fits my idea. I might enhance, but never change.
“Where I’m from, there’s so much color and contrast around, you can’t help but fall in love with it.
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Does place or location influence your perspective?
Locations are very important to me. Since I don’t like to alter much, it influences my perspective. It's an important consideration from the onset, part of the idea generation. How do you think of an idea and not find a place to put it? There’s always the chance to add props too, if need be. So sometimes you may need to build upon what is already there.
There’s a place I usually consider for my work because of its nature, the open space helps my ideas flow. Sometimes I’ll find colorful backgrounds — it could be an old wall somewhere with patches on the side, or painted at home because that’s what the concept demands.
What ideas excite you the most?
Lately, it has been about humans and their relationship to the natural and artificial environment. I believe our environment plays a huge part in our identity, to our power to adjust, our belongingness, and realities. Everything around us plays a part in making us whole.
How does travel influence your work and world view as an artist?
I believe travel exposes people to cultures and teaches new things. Most obviously during my trip to Paris, where I created a really extensive, elaborate project — more than what I usually do. It was a great teachable moment that broadened my horizons as an artist. It helps me realize there’s so much more than I know and more boundaries to push.
“I create to fit the natural environment, not the other way around”
What was the process like creating your book, “Losing It At Home?” Was it difficult to decide which photos to include?
The hardest part was selection. As an artist, I find a specific correlation between all my works. So selecting a few from particular projects came with that feeling of wanting to include everything. But, as always, it is a good thing to have other minds to work with and brainstorm together. Left to me, I would have made a collection of all my works!
How did ‘the vintage mason’ come to be?
Growing up, I realized I picked an unexplainable interest in really old things, things that were in existence far before me. So that’s where I got “vintage” from. “Mason” is a nickname my friends gave me in high school. I couldn’t get rid of it so at some point, I had to accept it. The two came together naturally and I thought it was a nice fit.
Talk to us about what you’re creating for DELSEY.
What I'm creating for DELSEY is significantly influenced by my old work.I'm exploring the moments between movement and stillness. There are some dramatic movements, as well as some still and silent ones. I’m exploring photos that go from three models, then two, then one, all who are going to act in different ways with each image. For the props, fruits and flowers are a significant part of my work. It’s a whole mix of sky, colorful DELSEY bags, and creating contrast against Black bodies — all in Accra.
