STEPHEN TAYO
The Lagos-based photographer considers faith, community and identity through the visual language of the Aladura movement, a Pentecostal Christian tradition rooted in Yoruba communities
“What comes to mind when you see the garment?” is the question at the centre of Stephen Tayo’s latest photographic work. Shot entirely in black and white, the work marks a departure from the saturated colour that has become synonymous with the Nigerian photographer’s practice. Here, Tayo turns his attention to devotees of the Aladura movement, a Pentecostal Christian tradition rooted in Yoruba communities. Across the series, the white robe is impossible to overlook. Flowing through the streets and appearing around moments of worship, the garments become more than a visual motif. Known as sutana, aso-funfun or simply “the garment”, they carry layers of spiritual and cultural meaning, connecting Christian faith and divine healing with Yoruba understandings of creation and the sacred. With a practice shaped by fashion as much as photography, Tayo has long been attentive to the ways clothing communicates identity. In this body of work, that interest takes on a different weight. Dress becomes an entry point into questions of faith, belonging, history and community. His photographs remain attentive to the people and environments around the garment, allowing Lagos itself to enter the work through streets, families, children and the rhythms of everyday life.
The series is also marked by Tayo’s observational approach. Many of the images are composed from behind or at a distance, resisting a more conventional portraiture and allowing gesture, movement and clothing to carry the frame. Rather than attempting to define the Aladura experience, Tayo follows his own curiosity through it. Presented as part of FF Projects’ year-long residency at Alára in Lagos, What Comes to Mind When You See the Garment? is Tayo’s first solo exhibition with the gallery. The series, which he began in 2022, was first presented at the International Center of Photography (ICP) in New York. For MANJU Journal, Tayo reflects on the making of the work, his decision to work in black and white, and the questions that continue to follow the garment.
In Conversation with Stephen Tayo
MJ: This is your first solo exhibition with FF Projects. Why did this body of work feel like the right introduction to that relationship?
ST: I think the decision to show What Comes to Mind When You See the Garment? came after several meetings with Faridah Folawiyo, in which we discussed the different mediums the series entails. Having first shown it at the International Center of Photography (ICP) in New York, I have been working on the series since 2022, and it feels like an organic deliberation.
MJ: Why did this series ask for black and white?
ST: I began the series on black-and-white film rolls, and it feels perfect for the work, even when shooting the rest of the series on a digital camera.
MJ: What were you careful to leave outside the frame?
ST: For this series, the approach I sought and continue to seek is an observational one, rooted in understanding my personal curiosities.
MJ: After making this work, what comes to mind when you see the garment?
ST: “Continuous curiosity.”
“WHAT COMES TO MIND WHEN YOU SEE THE GARMENT?” is on view until 6 September 2026. The exhibition is accompanied by a newly released limited-edition artist book.
The Lagos-based photographer considers faith, community and identity through the visual language of the Aladura movement, a Pentecostal Christian tradition rooted in Yoruba communities
“What comes to mind when you see the garment?” is the question at the centre of Stephen Tayo’s latest photographic work. Shot entirely in black and white, the work marks a departure from the saturated colour that has become synonymous with the Nigerian photographer’s practice. Here, Tayo turns his attention to devotees of the Aladura movement, a Pentecostal Christian tradition rooted in Yoruba communities. Across the series, the white robe is impossible to overlook. Flowing through the streets and appearing around moments of worship, the garments become more than a visual motif. Known as sutana, aso-funfun or simply “the garment”, they carry layers of spiritual and cultural meaning, connecting Christian faith and divine healing with Yoruba understandings of creation and the sacred. With a practice shaped by fashion as much as photography, Tayo has long been attentive to the ways clothing communicates identity. In this body of work, that interest takes on a different weight. Dress becomes an entry point into questions of faith, belonging, history and community. His photographs remain attentive to the people and environments around the garment, allowing Lagos itself to enter the work through streets, families, children and the rhythms of everyday life.
The series is also marked by Tayo’s observational approach. Many of the images are composed from behind or at a distance, resisting a more conventional portraiture and allowing gesture, movement and clothing to carry the frame. Rather than attempting to define the Aladura experience, Tayo follows his own curiosity through it. Presented as part of FF Projects’ year-long residency at Alára in Lagos, What Comes to Mind When You See the Garment? is Tayo’s first solo exhibition with the gallery. The series, which he began in 2022, was first presented at the International Center of Photography (ICP) in New York. For MANJU Journal, Tayo reflects on the making of the work, his decision to work in black and white, and the questions that continue to follow the garment.
In Conversation with Stephen Tayo
MJ: This is your first solo exhibition with FF Projects. Why did this body of work feel like the right introduction to that relationship?
ST: I think the decision to show What Comes to Mind When You See the Garment? came after several meetings with Faridah Folawiyo, in which we discussed the different mediums the series entails. Having first shown it at the International Center of Photography (ICP) in New York, I have been working on the series since 2022, and it feels like an organic deliberation.
MJ: Why did this series ask for black and white?
ST: I began the series on black-and-white film rolls, and it feels perfect for the work, even when shooting the rest of the series on a digital camera.
MJ: What were you careful to leave outside the frame?
ST: For this series, the approach I sought and continue to seek is an observational one, rooted in understanding my personal curiosities.
MJ: After making this work, what comes to mind when you see the garment?
ST: “Continuous curiosity.”
“WHAT COMES TO MIND WHEN YOU SEE THE GARMENT?” is on view until 6 September 2026. The exhibition is accompanied by a newly released limited-edition artist book.