It’s not too often that you hear the words ‘queer’ and ‘African’ in the same sentence. That is why Nigerian-American photographer Mikael Owunna started Limitless, a photo-series depicting LGBTQ members of the African diaspora in Europe and the U.S. After being forced to go through conversion therapy and exorcisms when his family discovered that he was homosexual, Owunna began to withdraw and reject anything and everything that was African. In an interview with the National Public Radio, Owunna recounted the abuse he was forced to endure, which included a healer pouring hot oil on his body to expel the demons that caused him to be gay.
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“In that context,” he said, “I felt like I couldn’t be Nigerian and queer, because I was put through so much trauma and abuse. I ran away from everything Nigerian, everything African for years.”
After a while, however, Owunna began to come across other LGBTQ members of the African diaspora who went through similar experiences. He came up with the idea to create Limitless, a portrait series intended to shut down outdated notions that being queer and being African are mutually exclusive. The photos depict African immigrants who identify with being both African and queer, as well as interviews with each subject on their experiences embracing both identities.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BR9HotDBoVJ/?hl=en&taken-by=mikaelowunna
Participants have described the experience as therapeutic, with one even stating that it enabled them to “confirm who they really are”. Owunna’s photo series has provided an outlet for queer Africans to bond over their experiences, and shut down homophobic stereotypes about what it means to be LGBTQ and African. “Homophobia is a recent import from European colonialism,” he told Mashable. “Africans have historically always been at the forefront of understanding of gender and sexuality, and our pre-colonial Indigenous understandings are so rich.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BPs0afhFzSu/?hl=en&taken-by=mikaelowunna
Owunna’s series is ongoing, and he has traveled across both the U.S. and Europe to explore the experiences of LGBTQ African immigrants worldwide. “What I really specifically try to do with my work is envision what a free world for black, queer, and trans people can look like.” he said, “So with every click of my camera, I’m trying to capture this sort of emancipatory vision.”
You can view photos from Limitless on Owunna’s official website.
