Ozoz, known as The Kitchen Butterfly is Nigerian born explorer – of food and life, self-taught photographer, writer and creative consultant who currently makes her home in Lagos – Nigeria.

Find out more about her journey with food on the blog.

Selected exhibitions include:

Education:

  • BSc. from the University of Liverpool (2000, Geology)
  • Diploma from the British College of Journalism (2012, Freelance Journalism)

Artist Statement

Writing, photography and food define my primary work. Photography in particular is my visual record, a journal of sorts, preserving moments in history, which shape culture and subcultures, bridging the gap from ancient to contemporary.

I explore identity, nostalgia and memory preservation. These shed light on resilience, the ways in which we are similar even in all the ways we differ, personal geographies, homecoming and the notion of comfort food. My work is centred on mapping West African food culture and foodways – history and heritage; culture; social, political and economic practices in the ancient and contemporary African experience; to find the culinary ties that bind, particularly in the syncrenetic relationships between Lagos-Nigeria and Bahia-Brazil. 

The discovery of links between Bahia-Brazil and Lagos-Nigeria in 2009 changed the understanding of home and concept of preservation for me. It taught me that food is more than just eating. My photos document journeys of shared things – origins, provenance and the routes.

I want to explore identity and hope, resilience and courage, food and home. I find streetfood a great lens to get to the soul of a cuisine. What drives those dishes? What are the gender dynamics and who cooks them? When? Why? How? What can we learn about the human experience through it?

These are the questions that motivate me.