George Osodi, (Nigerian, born 1974)

Gas Flare 3, 2006 from the series 'Oil Rich Niger Delta' (2003-2007)

Gas Flare 3, 2006 from the series 'Oil Rich Niger Delta' (2003-2007)
C-print, edition of 5 +2AP
80 x 120cm (31 1/2 x 47 1/4in).

The Niger delta region is of fundamental importance to those in power in Nigeria as the oil from that region makes up 95% of the country's export trade. Between 2003 and 07, George Osodi documented this area and the dramatic effect oil mining had on the landscape and local population. Oil Rich Niger Delta contains over 200 visually arresting and hard hitting photographs depicting the degradation of the eco-system and human labour by multi-national oil companies. Osodi has said that when "oil becomes a commodity, an incredible visual drama unfolds." We are presented with images of poverty, corruption and violence which reflects the urgency of the situation.

Osodi employs classical photographic motifs to great effect. Close up portraits, landscapes taken with a wide angled lens and portraits with dramatic foregrounds or backgrounds, often with fire or black clouds of smoke. There are scenes with camouflaged and heavily armed MEND militants (Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta who demand a share of the oil money) in which the ammunition creates striking visual surface patterns and other photographs exploiting seductive reflections in water.

The population does not benefit from the huge amount of wealth created in their locale. We see men, women and children going about their daily lives in their polluted and ravaged landscape. Osodi reflects that "people are of great value to me, especially what I call the real people. They are a source of joy and inspiration to me. In recent times, the impact of oil in the lives of most oil producing regions has been highly paradoxical...I want to put a human face on this paradise lost." (George Osodi quoted in Pale Reflections and Fables of Life: George Osodi's "Real People" of the Niger Delta, Raw Materials Company, 2011)