Men with a Masquerade
A Photograph by Richard Hay Jnr
The masked figure is flanked by others, two of whose faces are seen in full. Their glances are direct and posed, and in their knowingness, they seem to regard you with a dare. It’s a tightly framed image, making much of the background a placeless blur. Perhaps “placeless” is an ignorant description: the mask is recognisable to those who are acquainted how and why it was shaped this way. The coiffure, exaggerated teeth, lidded eyes. What makes the mask attractive to repeated scrutiny is how little is known of whoever has inhabited it. To look into that bulbous frame is to take a measure of opacity.
— Emmanuel Iduma
“The people in the photograph project intensity and a seriousness of purpose.”
This photograph is from a forthcoming photobook that I am working on entitled Resounding With Echoes. I took it in 1973 as I was traveling overland through Nigeria — mostly by hitching rides on the back of lorries. A colleague and I were given permission to photograph a masquerade in Edo state.
I really like the composition of this photograph, how it fills the entire frame and has several different layers. The people in it project intensity and a seriousness of purpose.
Robert Adams has a great quote addressing this in Why People Photograph which really resonates with me: “At our best and most fortunate we make pictures because of what stands in front of the camera, to honor what is greater and more interesting than we are. We never accomplish this perfectly, though in return we are given something perfect — a sense of inclusion. Our subject thus redefines us, and is part of the biography by which we want to be known.”
— Richard Hay Jnr
About Richard Hay Jnr
Richard Hay (R.Hay) visually explores the social landscape of people and the environments that they create and inhabit. Reflecting his interests and training in sociology, architecture, photography and design, Hay focuses on the dynamics of everyday life being lived by ordinary people. Hay’s photographic practice spans the eras of both analog and digital image making and he has exhibited in several group shows. He has a Ph.D. from Northwestern University and studied photography there. He lives and works in the San Francisco Bay Area. See more of his work on his website and Instagram.
RELATED — “Man with a Mask” by Nwancho NwaNri
In the moment while creating this photograph, I found myself wondering why this young man showed up to a masquerade performance in a mask. Was he merely trying to mimick the situation? Was it a way for him to feel more like a part of the festival? To embody the tradition of masquerades and masked dances? Or perhaps he just thought it cool? Whichever way, I couldn’t escape the thoughts and ideas that this sight conjured up in my mind.
LAST WEEK — “La Colline” by Louisa Ben
This photograph was taken during a residency with the collective Les Cousines in Montreuil, a Parisian suburb. I was photographing youth in the Morillons district and I met Sirandou during. I offered to photograph her near her home and I saw this light which made me want to make her portrait there.
UPDATES FROM THE COMMUNITY
Thero Makepe—whose work has been featured in Tender Photo—has announced a new exhibition in Cape Town, South Africa. Entitled It’s Not Going to Get Better, his poignant body of work examines the realities of contemporary Botswana in the context of global political shifts, focusing on the 2024 Botswana General Elections. The exhibition opens 13 December 2024 and runs until 25 January 2025 at Vela Projects in Cape Town. Find out more about the exhibition.
This is the 145th edition of this publication. The newsletter also read on web (best for viewing images), and via the Substack iOS/Android apps.
TENDER PHOTO is a digital platform of African photography, edited by Emmanuel Iduma. Our aim is to use photography to engage with life on the African continent. We publish narratives about the people, places, and events pictured in photographs, contributing to nuanced and layered perceptions.
Every Wednesday we feature a photograph, a short caption about it, and a statement from the photographer. Last year, we published commentaries or photo-essays in response to photographs previously featured on the newsletter, including CORRESPONDENCES, CONCORDANCE, KINDRED, INDEX, and AFFINITIES.
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