Akinbode Akinbiyi Rejects Flâneur Label in Berlin Exhibition

The Gropius Bau in Berlin presents 'Six Songs, Swirling Gracefully in the Taut Air', a solo exhibition of Nigerian photographer Akinbode Akinbiyi (b. 1946) running until July 19, 2020. The show features works from the past forty years, drawn from his personal archive. In an interview, Akinbiyi strongly rejects the Baudelairean concept of the flâneur as Eurocentric, preferring instead the idea of 'vagabonding'—a form of attentive wandering akin to hunting and gathering. He describes his practice as listening to the harmonies and dissonances of urban environments, capturing images that reflect deep-rooted connections. The exhibition includes photographs from Lagos, where he was born (though he clarifies he was born in Oxford, UK, to Nigerian parents), and Berlin, where he has lived for many years. He notes the exponential growth of Lagos from half a million to over twenty million inhabitants in his lifetime. Akinbiyi critiques the commodification of photography and the Eurocentric gaze, advocating for a slower, more attuned way of seeing. The exhibition is curated by Angela Madesani.