CREATIVERSE – Mikey Oshai

Mikey Oshai is a self taught Nigerian-American Contemporary Photographer,
filmmaker and Creative Director.

He graduated from Babcock university with a degree in Law and began his transition into the ‘creative field’ after failing to get into law school twice. When asked what motivated this transition, he says;

“How my photography journey started is kind of a funny story because I just
really wanted a cool Instagram page (laughing). Wanting a dope Instagram page
but not knowing how to achieve it pushed me to YouTube, where I watched
simple editing videos on how to edit images on your phone and put what I learnt
to practice. It wasn’t meant to be that serious or big of a deal but ended up
exploding into this really cool reality I am living now. I give credit to my dear
friends who trusted me enough to shoot them on my phone when they started
seeing the type of images I was experimenting with and putting out. I remember
my first job was with my friend who paid me to shoot him on my phone, which
was an iPhone. When he got the final edits and posted them online, it went viral
and people started following me. Around the same time I also shot a friend’s
collection which had the same viral effect, and It felt great honestly because I am self-taught, I didn’t go to school for this and even though the journey hasn’t been
easy, I didn’t give up but kept on going. At the time it was all new to me and I felt
like I was in over my head. This was all happening around the time I had failed at my second attempt for law school. After those viral moments, opportunities
sprang up, and it was literally like a domino effect in the sense that as I do one
work or project, people would come to me based on the last project I did, and it
spiraled from there.“

He began his photography journey as an intern for Elizabeth Isiorho, the founder of BETH MODELS. Whom he’d taken up to be his role model. He says she’s someone that he draws inspiration from.

For Mikey Art is voice, A form of expression and communication. It is much more than the visual aspect. A lot of his art is centered around consciousness. He was recently featured on blackartmatters, where he gave some insight about his work;

“I am very passionate about breaking stereotypes. Growing up in Nigeria as a
boy there are so many expectations placed on you, like how you must hide
emotions so you don’t appear weak. With my work I aim to challenge these
unrealistic expectations and also to celebrate the Man for who he is. His skin, his
passion, desires etc. We are all different in our unique ways and that should be
celebrated.
My work also aims to draw attention to mental health and the consciousness of
man. I believe there is power in being vulnerable, it is where we are our most
authentic selves.”

He does this in a bid to reduce the stigma around topics of Mental health. He tries to evoke a sense of community for Men/creatives and people in general, who go through various difficulties and lets us know that it’s “all a struggle”. We have the individual inner strength to overcome whatever difficulties life pushes at us.

Mikey Oshai has worked with quite a number of notable brands ranging from;
Orange culture, Tokyo James, Emmy Kasbit. His most recent publication was an 8 page spread on essence magazine.

His work can also been seen on CNNAfrica, ID, OkayAfrica, Vogue Italia.
He’s also captured quite a number of notable names, They include Melina
Matsoukas, Burnaboy, Naomi Campbell and Daniel Kaluuya

Mikey oshai, when asked “What advice he would give anyone pursuing a creative
career?

“I would say go after what you set your sights on and do it because you like it.
Study your craft because this journey, being creative, becoming a part of the
industry is not for the faint-hearted. It will chew you up, spit you out, and you
won’t recognise yourself. Let your work be your voice and let it speak for itself.
Create meaningful relationships and connections as you grow within the industry.
Also learn the ethics of business, know how to pitch yourself and know how to
network.
Hard work and consistency should be an embedded part of who you are. These
are more or less the two recipes for success. No shortcuts. The job is hard, the
journey is not easy but keep going, keep perfecting your craft and be consistent.
Whatever has your name on it has your name on it and nobody can take it away
from you, so you don’t need to kiss anybody’s ass, you don’t need to pander to
anyone, don’t people please and all that. What is for you will always be for you.
End of story. And finally, never be afraid and when you do, feel the fear and do it
anyway.”