Nigerian photographer Esther Adeola Seriki has disclosed his photo show titled, “Everyday Grace” is offering viewers a compelling invitation to pause, breathe, and appreciate the profound statement that “life, in its essence, is truly beautiful.
The show is currently being touted in the UK and Nigeria. It is much more than just a set of pictures. It is her way of showing that “less is more.”
Seriki takes the small, easily missed moments of everyday life and turns them into deep, important artworks. She makes us look closely at the beauty we usually forget to see.
Seriki’s lens operates at the intersection of documentary integrity and fine art sensibility. While her geographical scope is broad, spanning the vibrant streets of Nigeria to the subtle corners of England, her thematic focus is unwavering: the simple, often-missed beauty of the everyday.
“This is not merely about making images,” she says in conversation with Guardian Nigeria, “it is about creating impact, making work that resonates with people, their values and their culture.”
What distinguishes “Everyday Grace” from standard street photography is the artist’s deliberate intent. Seriki is not just capturing life; she is instilling meaning and definition into it. Each photograph serves as a quiet meditation, striving to uncover the “simplicity and beauty, the creativity and sophistication” beneath the surface. The overall effect is a serene and articulate collection that stands as an elegant visual antidote to the chaos of modern media.
The exhibition takes on a distinct resonance in its Nigerian presentation currently showing to an audience of about 3000 attendees at the Art, Business and Creativity Conference in Lagos. A featured work in this edition is a series of photographs titled, “Core and Course: Cultural Echoes in Motion.”
This body of work is a visual meditation on faith, heritage, and the quiet strength of women. Using her mother as the central figure, Seriki explores identity not as something fixed, but as a living concept carried and expressed through movement.
According to her, Core and Course is a visual meditation on faith, heritage and the quiet strength of women who shape the paths we walk. Photographed walking through contemporary UK streets, the model’s steps bridge continents and generations. The city becomes a space where tradition moves through modernity, where an elder carries her Bible as an anchor while navigating a landscape far from the soil that formed her and thriving beyond borders.
The image of a Black, African elder, adorned in àṣọ òkè (a fabric woven with lineage and memory), placed at the center of a contemporary UK street narrative, serves as a powerful statement on representation and the dynamic nature of cultural heritage carried across borders. This documentation blends street photography with fine art, creating a living archive that honors women whose cores remain unshaken even as their courses move through new terrains.
Seriki’s commitment is globally recognized. Her background includes significant contributions to Wikimedia Commons, notably winning Wiki Loves Earth Nigeria in 2023 and placing 8th internationally. This underscores her passion for open knowledge, using her camera to preserve heritage and elevate cultural narratives on a global platform.
The dialogue between her Nigerian roots and her current environment in England lends the collection a powerful, universal resonance, asserting that the “quiet grace” she finds is a fundamental, shared human experience.
“Everyday Grace” offers viewers a compelling invitation to pause, breathe, and appreciate the profound statement that “life, in its essence, is truly beautiful.”
The exhibition has previously drawn audiences at Artwalk Wakefield and the London Photoshow, and continues to tour the UK.
