Other Writing

Essays

• ‘The Spoils of a Savage War.’ On David Diop’s At Night All Blood is Black, for The New York Review of Books (2022)

• “How Desire Holds a Plea.” On love and sensuality, Extra Extra (2021).

• “What Will Tutuola Do.” An essay on the novels of Amos Tutuola and his relationship to language. Parapolitics: Cultural Freedom and the Cold War (2021). An earlier version in Tate Papers.

• An Introduction to Cyprian Ekwensi’s People of the City. (2020). Read online.

• “Elsewheres.” An essay on the art practices in Nigeria. Practice Space (2020).

• “Measures of Power.” On 3 photographs depicting power and violence in 1970s Nigeria, in FESTAC ’77 (2019). Read online.

• “My Life as a Wave.” Some photographs and a short essay. Open Space (2017)

• “The Sum of Encounters.” A travelogue for the Carnegie Int’l, 57th ed., 2018 (2017)

• “My Heart Is as Brief as Photos.” A narrative on photography, New York, and diasporas. Photographie et Oralité Dialogues à Bamako, Dakar et ailleurs (2016)

• On Ingrid Winterbach’s The Elusive Moth. Music & Literature (2014)

Art Criticism

• “Post-Continental: Contemporary African Photography.” Art in America (2021)

• “Another Country: On the Kamoinge Workshop.” Artforum (2020)

• “Italy’s Colonial History in Africa Reframed.” New York Review of Books (2020)

• “Beyond the Sea.” On Édouard Glissant and Lydia Cabrera. Art in America (2019)

• “LagosPhoto.” On the acclaimed photo festival. Aperture (2017)

• “Fiction/Non Fiction: On Recent Histories at the Walther Collection.” ARTNews (Spring 2017)

• “Even Walls.” Recent Histories: Contemporary African Photography and Video Art from the Walther Collection (2017). PDF.

• “Making Time.” Catalogue essay, Nigerian pavilion at the Venice Biennale (2017). PDF.

• “The Promise of Mutability.” A statement on art criticism. Brooklyn Rail (2016)

• “Malick Sidibé, Always.” A tribute on the death of the photographer. Okayafrica (2016)

• “In Multiple Dimensions: On Photography from Africa and the African Diaspora, in New York.” ARTNews (Summer 2016)

• “Shifting States.” An essay on photographs of Mohammadu Buhari, in Guernica (2015)

On Artists

• “Infinite Screens.” On Theo Eshetu. Aperture (2021)

• “9 Primers: On Uche Okeke’s ‘Natural Synthesis’.” Brooklyn Rail (2021)

• “Story of Many.” Namsa Leuba: Crossed Looks (2021).

• “Aftermath”; “Archive.” The Journey: New Positions in African Photography (2020).

• A conversation with Sir David Adjaye. Aperture (2020)

• “Foreigners in a Foreign Land.” On Arguiñe Escandón and Yann Gross. (2019)

• “Letters to Lina Iris Viktor II.” Some are Born to Endless Night (2019).

• “Letters to Lina Iris Viktor.” Lina Iris Viktor: A Haven. A Hell. A Dream Deferred (Skira, 2019). Also in BOMB. (2018)

• “The Work of Time.” On Victor Ehikhamenor. BOMB. (2018)

• “Being With.” On ruby Onyinyechi amanze and Wura Natasha Ogunji. you are so loved and lovely (2019).

• “Photographer of Bonny.” Art in America (2018)

• In Conversation with François-Xavier Gbré. François-Xavier Gbré: The Past is a Foreign Country (2015). PDF.

• “The Spiritual Photographs Khadija Saye Left Behind.” Hyperallergic (2017)

• “The Wealth of Nations.” On Victor Ehikhamenor. Guernica (2016)

• “The Self-Portraits of Samuel Fosso.” Guernica (2014)

Fiction

• “Notes on Happiness.” Hotel (2020).

Interviews

• Podcast interview: Momus: The Podcast (2021)

• A conversation on A Stranger’s Pose with Emmanuel Omodeinde. Bigblackbooks. (2021)

• A feature on the New York Review newsletter by Lucy McKeon (2020)

• Podcast interview: How to Eat the Dogs (2020)

• “First Draft” in The Republic (2020)

• “Sublime Particulars.” Sampsonia Way (2019)

• In conversation with Lidudumalingani on A Stranger’s Pose. Johannesburg Review of Books. (2019)

• “A Place is Illuminated in and by Absence. A conversation with Kọlá Túbọ̀sún. Brittle Paper. (2019)

• “The ways movement can and cannot heal.” An interview with Caitlin L. Chandler on A Stranger’s Pose. Africa is a Country. (2019)

• “Being a Writer.” In conversation with Wana Udobang. The Sole Adventurer. (2019)

• “Words for Pictures.” A conversation with Teju Cole. Quijote Talk, MFA Art Writing, SVA. (2018)

• Interview in The Cable on A Stranger’s Pose. (2018)

• “In History to my Barest Marrows.” A conversation with Yinka Elujoba. World Literature Today. (2016)