Colour Me Cultured is a portraiture series presenting young Nigerian women who have adopted unconventional appearances (e.g. unnaturally coloured hair and other body adornments). These women have freed themselves from the generic representations of femininity within the wider discourse of propriety, taking full control of their expressiveness.  

However, their colour choices were inspired by those on the Dutch Wax fabrics (aka Ankara fabrics) now synonymous with West African Culture. So, it becomes somewhat hypocritical to label them ‘uncultured’ or ‘improper’ simply because they are not wearing these prints/colours the conventional way.   

Women should have room for self-expression through experimentation using something as small yet as significant as colour, without feeling the need to conform to society’s acceptance. 


Colour Me Cultured

“Your aunties will insult you because you look like an Ashawo* ” is the song Fatima heard for a good chunk of her early 20s. Unfazed by those lyrics, she fell in love with white braiding hair and consistently styled her hair with what her aunts considered "the most jarring" of colours.

"To make matters worse" as she would also hear, her makeup was "too eccentric, too colourful, too much."

Too much for what?

*Nigerian pidgin slang meaning “prostitute.” Often used as an insult, targeted at indecent-looking women.

Fatima

What is the value?

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