In the short film 'I WONDER AS I WANDER' (2019–20) directed by Emeka Okereke, two Berlin-based Nigerian photographers of different generations engage in a filmic dialogue that transpires between Berlin and Bamako. It captures Akinbode Akinbiyi’s decades long pursuit of interrelating photographic processes with the physical and mental rigor of wandering. This weaving of sequences provide a glimpse into essential acts of daily observation, corporeal movement, urban noise and study of light. While Akinbiyi closely identifies with sacred philosophies of Yorubaland in connection to rhythm, symmetry and balance, we might also consider in parallel the words of Nigerian novelist, poet and critic Chinua Achebe who has noted, “Among the Igbo the art of conversation is regarded very highly, and proverbs are the palm-oil with which words are eaten.” Akinbiyi’s photo- graphs are conversation pieces, extending a dialogue between the viewer and the viewed. For this film, Emeka Okereke draws on a conversation that was first recorded with Akinbiyi as part of his podcast programme NKATA.
(Il Kino)