WUG
It is utterly fascinating how much lives a university witnesses; each individual life a different experience from the other. It might be an exaggeration to opine this, especially in university communities where students seem to live the same lives, but even in the monotony, there are always variances in routines and choices. The University of Nigeria, Enugu campus, is one of those campuses that seem to command a similar fashion of things with its students’ community teeming with nerd heads, a variation of religious activities, wild frat parties, entrepreneurs and social media informed creatives. However, this is where I first wander into the enchanting web of Agba.
I tell her when I get on the call with her, about my fascination with the fact that she had worked on her craft through the suffocating sameness of this place and she responds with laughter that echoes in my ears afterwards. The outline of the interview is the simple five question style of the magazine, and I am greatly amused by her responses, how she takes her time to answer these simple questions about her journey as a creative.
Agba Chioma is a creative director and an art director based in Lagos, Nigeria. She works on music videos and visualizers, and is currently into more of art directions: the look and artistic expression of ideas and the representation of those ideas into visually stimulating and enticing videos. But before all of this, Agba was a student photographer I admired for her visual expression and whimsical Instagram highlights.
These are her responses to the prompts by Undergrxnd Mag.
What were your early experiences like; how did it all begin?
I have always loved taking pictures of myself and I started off taking pictures of myself. I got into uni in 2016 and at the time, there was a rave of studio pictures—no offense to those guys, but they were overedited atrocities. I had never been into birthdays but that particular aspect of birthdays pissed me off. So I started off taking pictures just to create what would be the ideal representation of myself on camera. At the time, my aim was to learn how to take pictures of myself so that no one would mess up my photos. Yeah, I started taking pictures for selfish reasons. I didn’t even have a very good phone when I got into uni. But in 2017, my second year of uni, I got a pretty nice Geoni and the camera was so good, a lot of people couldn’t believe it wasn’t an iphone. It was encouraging, getting this phone. I would take pictures of myself and I wouldn’t post them. But I would show my friends and they would show their friends and roommates and that way, information spread and I started getting requests to take photos of others. They would offer me money and I would say no—silly me—because it was just using a phone at the time. That was funny/interesting because I would spend time on YouTube watching videos to better my craft. At the time though, smartphone photography wasn’t really a thing so there weren’t adequate resources to learn about it. I was learning from professional photographers and I would try to replicate whatever I could from those tutorials. By 2018, all my classmates knew me as a photographer although I was always quiet in class. I lost my phone later that year, and it was a bit depressing. I was studying medical laboratory science and I hated it, so the photography was the only way I could express myself. It wasn’t until 2020 that I finally got a new phone. An iphone 6. I was robbed afterwards and I didn’t have a smartphone till 2021 when I got a Samsung phone.
As at 2021, I was eager to share anything I learnt. My experience had grown; I hadn’t stopped learning because I didn’t have a phone. In 2022, I decided that no matter what happens, I would create stuff and without a phone. A camera. I had a friend that had a cammon 400D. Got his camera (his friend’s as his wasn’t available) and I would borrow a laptop to edit the photos afterwards with Lghtroom mobile/PC. Shooting Chisom was a highlight in my early journey as she was a big deal at the time and I was literally just starting. My friend was really helpful with his camera and time. It was a team of us, me and Chisom, creating anything that came to mind. Most people thought I was based in Lagos on the gram and they reached out and we got talking. In May 2023, I wrote my final exam and I got invited to work with an insta acquaintance in Lagos and I moved. It’s been two years now!
Have you always envisioned going into art direction or it just occurred to you; did it ever occur to you?
I had it in mind but it just felt like something I would do as a side thing. But when the opportunity came, I grabbed it with both hands. Obviously, I was done with med lab and it’s not something I wanted to do. Women’s health interests me greatly and it was one of the reasons I chose med lab as my major. It’s something I’m still interested in as it is under-researched and less spoken about. However, it would require so much resources to create the changes and make the impact I want, and I know med laboratory can’t give me the money I would need to fund these ideas, so I have to make that money elsewhere. In the end, it’s either I fund the research or progress or practice it later, but I’m not sure yet. As at the pandemic, I already knew that I couldn’t do this life. I love to be up and about. So when I came to this conclusion, I knew I had to move fully into this thing that comes naturally to me, because for some weird reasons, I thought it wasn’t good enough to make into a career. I didn’t want it to continue being a hobby so I made a conscious effort to turn it into a career.
Early challenges in your creative journey. Other than the phone issues I had back then, there really wasn’t so much. I thought my family and friends would have a big problem with me pivoting into the creative industry. But the responses were positive: you’ve always been the artsy one and we’ve been waiting for you to finally say and realise so, were the responses I received. They were so surprised when I went to science class and even more so, when I went to study med lab in uni as they always assumed I would do something low-key and afterwards, face my art. I paint and I craft things, I’ve always done so. I think that was what made it easier for my to switch to art direction. I make my sets, style and do all the production design. I had always been doing so but thought that was creative direction.
You seem like a fun person—I watched your highlights. The music you listen to, do they come naturally to you while creating or they come to be in the process of looking for appropriate music to accompany your works?
People say my work is vintage. I think that’s the most appropriate word they can find to describe my work. I don’t think my work is vintage. I think it’s soulful. The sort that slows down the rush everyone seems to be partakers of. Don’t get me wrong. I love the rush and I live for the rush. In my head, I’m slowing down time when I create. The only time I experienced the slow, calm life, was in my childhood. You see, my parents were radio people. We didn’t listen to a particular genre at home. And because they were radio people, I listened to different genres of music. There are songs that I disliked then because they felt old (mummy and daddy kind of music) but now I’m older and it reminds me of my childhood. It’s nostalgic for me. Now I seek to find them out, even when I don’t remember their names and never knew their genres. Some of them, I listened to them from old radio programs. I wouldn’t say they set the tone for my work but they add to it. This is because when I have those ideas I put together, I stumble upon nostalgia from my childhood and accompanying music.
How has your creative journey shaped your personhood and your worldview?
A lot has changed along the line. I grew up in an eastern, middle-class home with certain rules, principles and belief system you are expected to abide by. When I started making my art and exploring themes and various forms of my craft, my thinking patterns started getting shaped by people’s reactions and opinions. You know, seeing from their own perspective. I became more forgiving towards people. I think we are all just beautiful colours wobbling this world, hoping to find some kind of meaning in it before we eventually leave, and life is largely subjective. Creating taught me that. I used to hesitate and doubt myself a lot — the creative’s curse — and compare myself to other creatives and the heights they have achieved. But now, I see everyone’s craft and process as a personal journey, different from others and I have my own unique process too. This ideology has helped me handle criticisms and rebuffs from co-directors better. And it amuses me when I see creatives struggling with grasping the notion that nobody is obligated to execute things your way. There has to be compromise because your idea is yours; if you really want it so bad, then you should go make it. That is why it was given to you. This realization taught me to stop taking things as seriously or as an offence to my creativity when they go contrary. I have stopped getting emotionally attached to criticisms and scoldings under pressure.
Describe your creative journey; before and afters.
Soulful. Spontaneous. Evolving. It has continuously evolved and it is still evolving.
What influences your work?
Even from my self portrait days, fashion has always been a driving force. I am very interested in fashion and a fan of local brands. I still am a huge fan of Lisa Folawiyo. I have been tilting towards more videos than pictures recently and oftentimes, it is the fashion that sets the story for me. I love upcycling and recycling, the experiments and distortions of the already existing designs. Fashion keeps my mind running wild. Music too. Being someone that listens to music passively, sometimes a lyric strikes a cord and influences my art and creative process. It keeps my imagination running. I also like to ponder on whether a similar creative work was inspired by same music when I come across such works. https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cr6j9HmLgEl/?igsh=MTJsdmg0c2YyY2N6
Any advice to the youngster looking to break into the creative industry?
Don’t take things personally. It actually hurts my heart when I see young creatives struggling with grasping this in the heat of the moment. Be more calm during pressure; don’t succumb to pressure. Be open minded, don’t box yourself. This is an ever evolving journey, not a destination, so be open minded. Be ready to learn on your job. Grab all the opportunities you can. There should always be room for growth. Most importantly, leave that small city; you are not a tree! In Enugu I was told my work was too editorial, that I should make them more commercial but it never sat right with me. So rather than whining about people not appreciating your work, move to a bigger city. That’s all I can say to the youngster out there starting this journey.
Currently, she creates more videos than she takes photographs. Find her on YouTube:https://youtube.com/@bigagba?si=RhH1qQXjWR2DhyD-
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