Interview: Margaret (Sherie) Ngigi
By Lia J. Latty
Published September 9th, 2022
Did you always know you wanted to be a creative and a photographer?
SHERIE: Well, first of all, I didn’t know this was a career option when I was younger. I’ve always been the creative child playing around with crayons and all that. I wasn’t really much of an outdoor person. Throughout high school, I was super involved in extracurricular activities like music festivals, drama festivals, all the arts stuff. In terms of knowing if I was interested in the arts, yes. Honestly I didn’t know this whole field of photography was a career path until I got to university. That’s when I actually knew. I think university exposes you to a lot of things, and I was actually doing fine arts in uni, not photography related. It was a world of painting, ceramics, and graphic design. I think at that time when I was a freshman, Instagram was popping. In Kenya at that time, there were a lot of photoshoots that were trending with the cool kids. Being in that environment really exposed me to this small world of photography. In university during the first year in 2015, I took a short course on how to use the camera. I was already doing a diploma in the arts, so I mixed this new practice of learning how to use a camera into my art background. I then continued the path of photography mainly for the purpose of self expression and practicing art.
What inspirations influence your work?
SHERIE: Inspiration comes from all random places. A lot of the time when I’ve created something, during the editing process I start to see the patterns of the things that led me to that idea. I think what inspires me a lot is my environment, which is the same thing for a lot of artists, and women. I look at my work as some sort of diary throughout my womanhood. I picked up the camera when I was in university at 19 years old, and at that stage, you are blossoming into womanhood and just starting to figure things out through a new whole lens, just trying to understand yourself. I was understanding social concepts such as feminism, women rights and all that at that age. I found myself pouring that back into my art, and I found such things inspiring my work. Women have always been a source of inspiration for me. I haven’t photographed a lot of men actually. I just always find inspirational ideas or things that fit womanhood, and it doesn’t always have to involve activism in one way. Sometimes it’s just a reflection of a stage that I’m in, or a feeling, and I’ll see that pouring back into my work.
What is your process like when you’re working with the people you photograph?
SHERIE: Sometimes it can be very, very random. I’ve mainly been photographing people that I know that I have some sort of relationship with. I rarely switch up. This is because for some concepts or ideas, I feel like the person may suit it because of the prop they want to use, or their skin tone. When it comes to choosing the people that I’m photographing, in terms of the models, I don’t put out casting calls. It’s always, “I know her friend and I know she fits this. She may have time for it.” Anybody can be the one in front of the camera, if it’s a matter of availability. I love having other people help me out. Sometimes you can’t do it all. With my project Murky Water, it was all hands on deck. The people who have been in that position to help me out are people that I’m still super close to. In terms of collaboration, it was always tied back to a relationship with somebody, in whatever capacity.
Introspection I
How do you navigate the world of contemporary photography?
SHERIE: I felt a little bit of a struggle, especially now here in Kenya. You can imagine there aren’t so many fine art photographers or contemporary photographers around. I literally can count them on my hands, at least the ones who have a presence in the photographic contemporary scene. The fact that this is a path that I started experimenting with, and I was a bit younger, made it even harder because I wasn’t seeing a lot of people my age doing this. There’s that issue of one feeling a bit lost because you are not seeing any other blueprints around you or people exploring the same path. Finding recognition from galleries, or at least collectors, or even maneuvering and figuring out if this is the way I should do it is a whole other thing. There aren’t so many people doing it here, so you don’t even know how to go about certain things. What has helped me is intermingling with other artists from different mediums. That definitely has helped me in terms of finding an audience for my work. I think Akka was the first gallery who was interested in my work, and through them other people continued to follow. Gaining that respect from people outside the country, showing you some sort of recognition, it really counts. It plays a huge role here, at least for photography. I don’t think that’s the same story for painters, but from my experience, you really have to prove yourself a lot. Even the galleries may tell you it’s hard to sell photography here. It’s very challenging in terms of breaking the ceiling and being able to be seen. It’s been a bit of a struggle for myself to figure out how to fit in the “contemporary artist” category. Since 2020, I really felt like I didn’t know how to be an artist. I feel pressure about having to produce work in a certain way. You have to write artist statements, try to do large bodies of work, and there isn’t a book to teach you. So I’ve just been figuring it out honestly.
How do you define your relationship with photography?
SHERIE: Photography for me is another tool, like a paint brush, that I use as a form of expression. I look at it in terms of the work that I’m creating, like some sort of diary. Different aspects of my life, or whichever point that I’m in, are still gonna be in the work that I’m doing, no matter what capacity.
Introspection IV
“Different aspects of my life, or whichever point that I’m in, are still gonna be in the work that I’m doing, no matter what capacity.“
What was your thought process behind creating the series Mimi Ni Nani?
SHERIE: Mimi Ni Nani is Swahili for “Who am I?”. I started shooting late last year, and the other part of it earlier this year in January. I just finished uni this past semester, I took a semester break last year and I came home. I used to study in Nairobi, but my hometown is Mombasa. Two different cities, but they’re an 8 hour drive away from each other. The cultures are completely different. Mombasa is by the sea, there’s more Swahili culture here and all that. It’s a whole different environment, and that’s where I used to study. I stayed in Nairobi for school. I stayed there for like 7 years, definitely living there mostly, but then traveling during the holidays or during school breaks and all that. When I almost turned 25 years old, I started feeling that midlife crisis kinda thing when you’re about to finish uni and you’re supposed to feel like you have your shit together. Instead, there was a lot of fog. There’s a lot of fog around you and you just want to have a clear vision of something solid, and I think that landed me in a state of reflectiveness. A lot of mirrors were just in my head, standing in front of mirrors and taking that moment of introspection. I left Nairobi and just traveled back home. The rest at home is the best. Whatever struggles you’re going through, sometimes you want to go back home and just feel at home, feel calm and collect yourself.
The whole series was shot in Mombasa. It was even more possible for me to shoot here because I had friends who could really help me. I had space and all that. That’s just what Mombasa is for me. I wanted to do the set with mirrors by the beach because the beach always brings me some sort of calmness. Even though I can’t swim, I actually love the beach. I love going there. The sun, the sunset, the water, it just does something to you, and that is what is being signified. I wanted to mark the landscape over here, my hometown, and say this is what the water means to me. You’re coming back with some sort of cleansing, an introspection, you know, seeing if you can be able to clear the form and figure things out. That was the whole inspiration behind it.
Why did you decide to utilize NFTs for your work? Has it been beneficial to your art practice?
SHERIE: Oh yeah, it has been really life changing in so many aspects. So remember now, late last year, I was just going through that whole midlife crisis, and feeling stuck in terms of my practice. There aren’t many people around who are doing the same kinda thing that I’m doing, or almost on the same path. I felt isolated and confused. There’s what we call now Web3, and in Web2 I feel like there isn’t so much of a sense of community unlike what I’ve seen in the NFT community. Community is everything there, and that has been my biggest blessing. Being able to be surrounded by a diverse set of people, all of them doing different kinds of things, is a life changing thing for me, especially as an artist. Being surrounded by similar-minded people that you can access 24/7 really changed my perspective on a lot of things, and even my confidence. You have easy access to people on Twitter Spaces that you can share your work with and have them critique it. You see the difference when people are launching new work or they’ve minted a new collection. Talking and interacting with people as you explain what the project is about in Spaces. That form of communication or that form of community and accessibility to people really, really impacted me in such a positive way and lifted my spirits into coming back to the path of contemporary photography. I was about to give it up, it was so tough. In terms of being able to make money, that really, really helped me. When selling NFTs, you are not splitting any money. All the money goes back to you. The collectors are also accessible on Twitter as well, so that’s really helpful too. It’s been really amazing, honestly.
What do you hope people take away from your imagery?
SHERIE: I hope my work starts a conversation, either internally or externally, like starting a conversation in a group setting, or finding some sort of relatability to what you’re seeing and triggering memories that way. Just ask some questions. That’s always my number one thing. I hope this sparks something that you’re able to relate to, or even divert from the concept that I had in mind.