“I’m very experimental with my style,” says Nigerian model and artistUche Uba.
“Makeup for me is, to an extent, an act of defiance.
You cannot tell me what I can or cannot do to my face.”
Vincent Desmond: Iyesogie Ogieriakhi. Remaining Portraits: Courtesy Of Subject. Remaining Images: Getty Images.
It’s helped me connect with the queer community."
Globally,men in makeupface bullying and homophobic trolling, even in progressive countries.
I myself was taken into custody for over two hours in Lagos because my nails were painted.
Uche Uba
Okoli, however, is unbothered.
Ashley Okoli
“Other people think I do a lot [with my style and makeup].
I think they do not do enough,” she says.
Michael Kohh
I think they’re just really scared of nonconformity, but they can’t stop looking.
Okoli’s makeup is loud, bold, unapologetic, and makes it clear she intends to occupy space.
That fact triggers many who feel she shouldn’t be that confident.
Ashley Okoli
“I have created this world in my head that helps me navigate living in Nigeria without going insane.
“But the reality is still fucking scary.”
Homophobic violence is a celebrated norm, so much so that it is treated casually.
Ayopo Abiri
“Being queer in Nigeria is worse than living in hell,” makeup artistAyopo Abiristates succinctly.
And like hell, Lagos is always hot.
“I can’t lie.
Ayo Lawson
If Lagos wasn’t so hot, I’d be in drag every day, makeup-wise.
I just love constructing new features on my face.
She is subject to daily questioning and criticism from people who demand she justify her looks.
“I get criticism even from my parents,” Lawson says.
“My mum thinks I dress too masculine and that my bleached eyebrows are weird.
Everywhere I go I get stared at.
People ask if I’m a guy or a girl.
But for me, I don’t see things as masculine or feminine.
I just dress for my comfort.”
Lawson doesn’t see herself as a queer rights activist.
“I don’t see what I wear as groundbreaking.
I just want to dress up like me.”
