Market Republic is a fine art photographic series exploring the Nigerian marketplace as a self contained social and economic world. The project looks beyond the conventional representation of a market as simply a place of buying and selling. Through photography, the marketplace becomes a complex environment shaped by people, commerce, colour, movement, architecture and informal systems of exchange. The photographs observe traders, customers, produce, stalls, umbrellas, buildings and the spaces between them. Together, these elements form a constantly changing visual landscape. The title Market Republic refers to the idea that the market operates almost like a small republic of its own. It has its own rhythms, relationships, economies, territories and forms of interaction. People enter the market with different roles and purposes, yet collectively contribute to the life of the space. The series combines documentary observation with a fine art approach to composition, colour, repetition and perspective.
