Mutating Origins: Adeyemi Adebayo

What happens to our sense of self when we leave home behind? In Mutating Origins, Nigerian photographer Adeyemi Adebayo unpacks this question through a mix of portraiture, still life, and oral storytelling. The project provides an intimate and unflinching look at the lives of African migrants in the United States. These individuals navigate identities that are constantly in flux, stretched across borders, histories, and hopes.

The Power of Black and White

Adebayo’s choice to present the portraits and passport-style images in black and white feels deliberate. Stripped of color, the collaborators appear both timeless and unplaceable. This visual metaphor reflects the liminal space many migrants occupy. The monochrome frames reduce distractions and strip away the certainty of identity. Instead, we’re invited to sit with the complexity of who they were before migration and who they’re becoming now.

The Significance of Still Life

In contrast, the still life images are vibrant, warm, and full of color. They offer a glimpse into the past. These images showcase possessions brought from home, such as carefully folded clothes, cherished objects, and fragments of another life. These artefacts bear significant emotional weight. They resonate with stories of joy, tradition, and identity before dislocation. Perhaps unintentionally, or perhaps with sharp intention, the coloured images evoke a different emotional register. They suggest brightness, nostalgia, and a sense of wholeness that the present often struggles to deliver.

Florence's gown with kid's dashiki

Migration's Impact on Identity

Mutating Origins is not simply about movement from one place to another. It delves deeper into what migration does to the body, the mind, and memory. It questions the perception of the West as a promised land. The project reveals the quiet, everyday negotiations that arise when trying to belong in a place that doesn’t always welcome you. It asks: What does home mean when you’re reshaping it on unfamiliar ground? What gets left behind, and what, if anything, can be carried forward?

Ethical Storytelling

By working closely with each participant, Adebayo prioritizes ethical storytelling. His collaborators are not merely subjects; they are co-authors in the narrative. Through shared dialogue, they shape how they are represented. This mutual exchange, where stories are revisited, refined, and sometimes revised, allows for layered and more honest documentation. It ensures that the complexities of their experiences shine through.

The Essence of Tenderness

There is a tenderness running through Mutating Origins. It lives in the quiet eye contact of a portrait, in the familiar textures of a cherished item, and in the cadence of a shared story. While the project is rooted in the African diaspora in the U.S., its questions resonate beyond borders.

The Constant Evolution of Identity

In an age defined by borders and binaries, Mutating Origins reminds us that identity is never fixed. It’s continuously mutating. Sometimes it changes painfully, while other times it transforms beautifully. Our identities are carried in memory, shaped in motion, and reflected in the stories we dare to tell.

Adeyemi Adebayo is a Nigerian documentary photographer and writer currently based in the U.S. Find out more about his work.

Through his lens, we are compelled to reflect on our sense of self. What does it mean to belong? How do we navigate our identities when facing new contexts? These questions linger long after viewing Mutating Origins. They challenge us to consider the complexities of migration and the stories that shape who we are.