In a case too many, a Lagos-based photographer, Ayo Akinwande has accused Jere Ikongio of plagiarising his work ‘Boju-Boju completely.
He made this accusation via his Instagram page @iamayoakinwande that Ikongio was present during the exhibition of his project from where he ‘stole’ his ideas, works completely.
I, Ayo Akinwande, bring to the attention of the general public a case of blatant plagiarism and shameless theft of intellectual property by Jere Ikongio, a photographer and technical staff of the Goethe-Institut Lagos. The aforementioned person has plagiarized my on-going project titled “Boju Boju”. The theft not only includes the name “Boju Boju”, but also the direct copying of all aesthetic compositional elements of the work.
The Original body of work “Boju Boju” was exhibited at the Osh Gallery in Yaba, Lagos from 27th June to 11th July 2015. It was curated by Folakunle Osh and the artistic/curatorial direction of the exhibition involved the enactment of the game of “Hide & Seek” in a labyrinth, with the images printed on a single canvass which was 100meters long. Jeremiah Ikongio was in attendance at the exhibition opening.
Boju-Boju was published on Art Africa, page 206, Issue #01, September 2015 and was also published on Calin Kruse Dienacht Magazine in its February 2016 edition. I had presented “Boju-Boju” at workshops and critic sessions organized by the Goethe-Institut Lagos and the The Nlele Institute | African Centre for Photography with Jeremiah Ikongio also participating in these programs.
I served Jeremiah Ikongio a notice on the 4th of December 2016 upon reading his publication on facebook , to remove the title “Boju-Boju” from his project to be shown on 24th December 2016 at an unknown location and delete all his posts on social media with the title. I don’t have a monopoly over the use of masks in visual storytelling but when the title “Boju-Boju” is appropriated, you mislead audiences who are already aware of an existing work and doing damage to my narrative, research and reputation.
I would like to inform all collaborators on Jeremiah Ikongio’s intended project that they will face legal charges if they choose to proceed with the name “Boju Boju” as title for their work.
You can visit the The Osh Gallery page to see images from the Boju-Boju exhibition and also visit my website to know more about the work