Johnson Donatus Aihumekeokhai Ojeikere (1930-2014), known as J.D. 'Okhai Ojeikere, was a Nigerian photographer known for documenting the culture of his native Nigeria. 'Okhai Ojeikere applied the skills he developed as a press photographer for the Nigerian Ministry of Information in the 1950s and as an employee of West African Publicity in the 1960s, to create artwork that oscillates between documentary photography and fine art. This body of work, now consisting of thousands of images, has become a unique anthropological, ethnographic, and documentary national treasure, which has charted developments in Nigerian architecture, university life, cultural festivals, theatrical performances, and most famously, hairstyles. 

Over a career that spanned more than fifty years, Ojeikere’s work has been featured in numerous solo exhibitions at the Fondation Cartier, Paris, France (2000); Hara Museum, Tokyo, Japan (2004); Museum for Contemporary Art, Kiasma, Helsinki, Finland (2011); CCA, Lagos, Nigeria (2010); MAMCO, Geneva, Switzerland (2001). Group exhibitions include Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris, France (2017); Studio Museum Harlem, New York, US (2015); Venice Biennale, Italy (2013); Museum of Art and Design, New York, US (2010); Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria (2010); Documenta 12, Kassel, Germany (2007).

He is represented in some of the most prestigious collections worldwide, including the Met, New York, US; Museum of Modern Art, New-York, US; The Studio Museum Harlem, New York, US; The Brooklyn Museum, New York, US; Tate Modern, London, UK; Victoria & Albert Museum, London, UK; Musée d’art moderne de la ville de Paris, France; The Art Institute of Chicago, US; Princeton University Art Museum, NJ, US; Musée du Quai Branly - Jacques Chirac, Paris, France; QAGOMA, Brisbane, Australia.