In 1968 Ojeikere embarked on a monumental project to document the myriad hairstyles worn by women across a newly independent Nigeria. Over the next seven years, he amassed more than one thousand photographs. Together,
these rigorously composed images form a portrait of a nation undergoing social and physical transformation—with feminine beauty standards providing the ultimate symbol. In Brush Eko Bridge, clean lines appear across
a woman’s carefully parted scalp, her hair threaded to sculptural effect. In profile her hairdo evokes the highways and architectural developments that were then populating the Lagos skyline.

Gallery label from

Ideas of Africa: Portraiture and Political Imagination, 2025

Medium Two gelatin silver prints
Dimensions Each 11 × 8" (27.9 × 20.3 cm) Frame (a): 17 5/8 × 15 3/8 × 1 1/2" (44.8 × 39.1 × 3.8 cm) Frame (b): 17 5/8 × 14 7/8 × 1 1/2" (44.8 × 37.8 × 3.8 cm)
Credit The Family of Man Fund
Object number 1002.2013.a-b
Department Photography

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