About

WHATIFTHEWORLD is pleased to present We Must Not Be Looking – a new series of photographic work by Nigerian artist Lakin Ogunbanwo. In this body of work Ogunbanwo proposes an irreverent reflection on the populist language of race and identity in South Africa. Whilst on an artist residency in Cape Town in 2015, Ogunbanwo was struck by how people self-identified by the colour of their skin: black, white, but even more strikingly as “coloured” a term usually considered derogatory elsewhere in the world. Using his position as an outsider, unfamiliar with the racialised identities of South African society, he exploited this naivety in a spontaneous yet ultimately satirical reimagining of race by creating images that are a literal translation of the term Coloured. The opening will coincide with First Thursdays (Johannesburg) at the Trumpet, 19 Keyes Avenue, Keyes Art Mile, Rosebank, 2196 Johannesburg. We look forward to seeing you there.