Being, Seeing, Wandering

Akinbode Akinbiyi’s street photography takes in the world’s major cities, which he explores on foot. His images are visual metaphors ruminating on cultural change, social exclusion, and colonialism’s sociopolitical consequences and its impact on urban planning. Whether he is out and about in Bamako, Berlin, Lagos, or Durban, the photographer uses his camera to investigate social structures in urban spaces.

The book presents key aspects of Akinbiyi’s work since 1990. In 2024 the photographer and author is being awarded the Berlin Senate’s Hannah Höch Prize for his life’s work.

Akinbode Akinbiyi, b. 1946 in Oxford, grew up in England and Nigeria, in the city of Lagos. He studied literature and English and began teaching himself photography as a young man. He has featured in numerous exhibitions and biennials worldwide. He exhibited his work in Athens and Kassel as part of documenta 14 in 2017.