ETINOSA YVONNE / Nigeria
Etinosa Yvonne (b. 1989) is a self-taught documentary photographer and visual artist born and brought up in Nigeria. She works with various art forms including still images and videos.
The primary focus of her work is on exploring and expressing themes related to the human condition and social injustice. Etinosa is one of six talents selected for the 2020 cycle of the World Press Photo 6X6 Africa Global Talent. She has received grants from Women Photograph, National Geographic in partnership with Lagos Photo and Art X as well as an award from the Royal Photographic Society for her project "It’s All In My Head".
Etinosa's works have been shown in selected group exhibitions and have also been published in several international publications. She currently resides in Abuja, Nigeria.
Unboxed
In Unboxed, Etinosa explores the ever-changing perception of masculinity as it relates to the outward appearance of men, as well as the limitations that society puts on them which often restricts their expression.
At some point in 2019, during a short stay in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial centre, she began to notice a rise in young men across the city who either used pink lip balm or tattooed their lips pink to enhance their looks. Etinosa found this trend very fascinating. As she pondered about the trend, she realized that more than ever before, the beauty standard of men across the country is rapidly changing as more men refuse to conform to society’s expectations.
This multimedia project features conversations with men from different parts of Nigeria as well as performances. The conversations are centred around their perception of masculinity as it relates to their looks, masculinity as it relates to identity and more importantly their favourite body parts.
