A popular American photographer called Rob Coxwood once said, “Great photos aren’t about how much you spent making them; it’s about how you see the world!” In this sense, the human eye can be likened to a multipurpose camera lens, shaping visual reality through perception rather than technical enhancement. It points to the fact that all the beauty we perceive around us and the meaning they illuminate in our lives continue to act as raw material for all kinds of photography. In other words, the most authentic litmus test for expertise is actually sheer originality.
Nigerian photographers like Morgan Otagburuagu are foolproof examples of Coxwood’s philosophy, with their portfolio revealing a certain depth in storytelling and photographic syntax that’s both unique and outstanding. Before his big career break, in 2024, when he served as a judge in the annual staff photo contest of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), in London, Morgan Otagburuagu had already begun blazing a trail with his art photography. His 2020 debut photo collection, ‘Black Diamond’, celebrated his mastery of lights and tones, with high contrast monochrome shots of a bald Black lady. The series spotlights Nubian beauty, with dark tones, and speaks of the quiet resilience Black women face in the wake of colourism across Nigeria. That strikingly dramatic intensity in his monochrome work has become a recurring motif across his photographic art practice, becoming a muted campaign for black photography across Africa and the diaspora.
While his lighting and contrast-heavy retouching have amplified his visual expressions, Morgan Otagburuagu has continued broadening his visual language with more conceptual storytelling, relying on art direction that speaks as sharply as the megapixels used to capture the story. In his other award-winning collection, ‘In Bloom’, exhibited at the London-based Doyle Wham Gallery in 2023, Otagburuagu combines his high and low tones and monochromatic palette with a flower-based motif that adorns his model’s skin. In one frame, the model is layered with burnt orange flower petals that contrast the heavy dark skin tones and blue backdrop. In another frame, white garden roses and bougainvillaea are mosaiced into the backdrop, with gold eye shadow illuminating the heavy dark skin tones.
In both frames, alongside the entire collection, Morgan serenades the transient nature of life, with the flowers representing the cycle of life and death, rebirth and grief, and the dark-skinned model standing triumphantly as a witness to all. It also celebrates the idea of rebirth and redemption, with Morgan’s public statements, citing a personal tragedy as its muse, amplifying its artistic value.
Culturally, the works of photographers like Morgan Otagburuagu, TY Bello, and Kelechi Amadi-obi, among others, are essential to the ecosystem because they are primordial style shifts that inspire the local photoscape and draw global attention to our homegrown scene. Morgan, especially, with his jury work at EBRD, is at the forefront of bridging the gap between Black African art photography in Nigeria with the rest of the world.
Across Morgan’s other artworks, a string of catharsis trails his every shot. From artsy silhouettes to free-form poses to symmetry-leaning compositions and art direction, he embellishes his signature high tones and strong contrast into the frames, igniting awe with each result. His finished work feels like a pulpy mix of calm and fierce, arresting the gaze with a soulful, tender, intimate and ethereal feel.
Since he began photography in the summer of 2017, Morgan Otagburuagu has risen through the ranks, transitioning from fashion photography to beauty portraits, conceptual black portraits, still-life shots, and finally to becoming one of the most respected emerging voices in Black art photography. Born in the bustling city of Abia State, he’s devoted to reflecting the African spirit and culture that shaped his evolution. A true master of lighting and composition, he’s won several awards, including the Finest African Fashion Photographer of the Year (2022/23), the Agora Worldwide Award (2023), and the Profifoto New Talent Award (2023). His work has also been exhibited in prestigious galleries across Nigeria, Germany, Japan, and the UK, including the Doyle Wham Gallery, where he headlined the London Gallery Weekend, Photo London, Abuja Art Week, and Photobasel, among several others.
However, the laurels rest just beneath the most important rung in Morgan Otagburuagu’s ladder of success: his community impact as the National Director (Nigeria) for Colour of Tomorrow, the Swiss-based art association dedicated to grooming the creativity of children. He’s tutored dozens of children in art practice, especially in visual art and storytelling, raising the hopes of a brighter future for the talented children.
Overall, Morgan’s effervescent cinematic curiosity and social commentary are the unofficial ‘light’ and ‘shadow’ of his works, presenting strong imagery, concepts and storytelling with the urgency of a cultural trailblazer. It’s the type of photography that gets one feeling their thoughts and not just thinking them, all the time rousing a profound ethnic and social consciousness that continues to distinguish his work as important for the times.
