Bidemi Oloyede

Bidemi Oloyede is originally from Port Harcourt, Nigeria now based in Toronto, ON, Canada. He holds a BFA in Photography from OCAD University in Toronto. Oloyede received the 2019 Verant Richard Award and Prize. 

Bidemi Oloyede is an emerging street and portrait photographer currently based in Toronto, ON., who captures the energy and emotion of people in their natural environment and social landscapes in a documentary style using predominantly black and white film. 

His impulse documentary style is a reflection of the interaction or inner dialogue between the photographer and the subject. Oloyede is interested and invested in the physicality of film, the historical and chemical context and legacy of image making and the laborious process of traditional darkroom techniques. He seeks to explore the ‘Human Condition’, everyday people and the influences behind how people function in their social-political contexts.

Bidemi Oloyede, Portrait of Graham and Zviko in Their Home. Toronto. Large Format Photography 2019

AGO: What was the inspiration for this artwork or series?
Oloyede: The BL|ARCHIVE (working title) project was born out of personal research I was conducting for my final year thesis project at OCAD University. My research involved looking at the history of Blacks in Canada as well as the history of the photographic medium and how it has been weaponized against the black body and the representation of black culture from the early 1800’s till date. 

This as a result stirred up a lot of questions for me when it came to finding my community here in Toronto, Canada as I am an immigrant from Port Harcourt, Nigeria and not originally from here. So I began to explore and document within my community in the form of street photography, and portraiture using analogue and historical processes and mediums. 

I began to fully realize these topics in my latest solo show with Scotiabank CONTACT Photography festival, which used samplings from my archive to convey the multi-faceted perspectives of Black life in Toronto. 

The work is activist in nature as I aim to tell a counter-narrative to already widespread associations and traumatic imagery that have been circulated for decades. 

AGO: Tell us about a place or a space where you most love making your work?
Oloyede: As a documentary photographer primarily working with analogue processes and a myriad of interests, I often find myself in a variety of spaces: from people's homes, to (drag) balls, to studios, or out on the streets, depending on the type of work being made. I go wherever the work takes me. 

That being said, a space of great importance to my photo making process is the darkroom. The darkroom is where I am able to spend close time with my work and study them while I print, I love it there. It is one of the last stages in my production process and certainly the calm after the storm of shooting. Nothing but the sound of water and jazz music whilst enjoying some tea.

AGO: Are you in dialogue with any other artists or creative peers about your practice? If so, how does this dialogue feed your work?
Oloyede: I am constantly in dialogue about my work with my peers who are mostly artists I admire across various disciplines as well as curators and as past professors from university. It is a great way of getting another perspective and view of my work from another lens and gives me the ability to reach beyond my own personal views and opinions. I am my harshest critic. As a result of these dialogues with artists from different disciplines, valuable perspectives on varying experiences and research are brought to the table; including references from exhibitions they have attended or books they have read that I haven't, and I am always open to learning and incorporating such information which in turn educates me and makes me grow to be a better artist and make better and more critically thought out work.

Bidemi Oloyede, Tintype of Oluseye Ogunlesi. Toronto. Wet Plate Photography 2019

Bidemi Oloyede is an emerging street and portrait photographer capturing the energy and emotion of social landscapes using predominantly black and white film. His impulse documentary style is a reflection of the interaction or inner dialogue between the photographer and the subject. He is invested in the physicality of film — the historical legacy of image making and its chemical context — and the laborious process of traditional darkroom techniques to expose the realities of the everyday. Oloyede is originally from Port Harcourt, Nigeria now based in Toronto, ON, Canada. He holds a BFA in Photography from OCAD University.

Follow Bidemi @bidemioloyede

Learn more about Oloyede's practice of street and portrait photography, in their conversation with AGO curator Julie Crooks below: