The creative sisters were shot by legendary photographer Annie Leibovitz
Yagazie and Akwaeke Emezi are a voice for the creative Nigerian youth. Akwaeke is a writer and Yagazie is a documentary photographer and they have both used their talents to chronicle what it means to be an African. The sisters, hailing from Aba, have now reached a global platform after being featured in US Vogue.
The sisters were featured in an article with other famous families including actress Olivia Wilde and Jamila Woods.
The article called, '5 Families Who Are Changing The World as We Know It', was an homage to families who are working, be it creative, commerce or philanthropy to drive forward positive change all over the world.
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An excerpt from the interview reads:
When Yagazie Emezi was about six, she was hospitalized after being run over by a truck. (Luckily, she says, her bones were still growing.) To the Nigerian-born documentary photographer, the experience was more formative than traumatic. “I’ve had the scar for most of my life,” says Yagazie. “I don’t remember myself without it.”
Yagazie’s matter-of-fact attitude informs her ongoing project Re‑learning Bodies, a series of photographs of people from African communities that presents scars less as a result of violence and more as a testament to lived experience. This shift in conventional thinking is something Yagazie’s sister, Akwaeke, also explores in her stunning debut novel, Freshwater, a beguiling book that skips from Nigeria to Virginia to Brooklyn, drawing from Igbo tradition and the author’s own autobiography.
Through different forms, the sisters see themselves as part of a larger endeavor to break with norms and tradition. “There’s this reality that’s considered mainstream, where beauty looks like X,” says Akwaeke. “We’re stepping outside that reality, and we’re saying we’re not going to move.”
Sisterly bond
On her Instagram, Yagazie expressed her gratitude for her sister who has been her constant companion along this journey called life. She posted a cute throwback of the two to commemorate such a huge moment in their respective careers to show just how far the two have come.
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Support from Annie Leibovitz
Yagazie made a special post to thank photographer Annie Leibovitz who shot the two for the feature. She said:
Annie was so incredibly supportive and sweet throughout the shoot because, well, Annie. It was pretty awesome/jarring to know she had seen my work and was curious/wanted a signed a copy of @azemezi’s book. She also kept giving tips and pieces of advice which caused plenty of feels of much overwhelm lol.
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Important female representation
Yagazie and Akwaeke, as well as being an important part of Nigeria's creative space, are a great representation for thousands of young women in Nigeria who are looking for great examples of not being limited by one's circumstance. From Aba, to Vogue and beyond, we are certain this is just the beginning of deserved international recognition for the incredibly talented siblings.
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