Abstract In urban Nigeria, the profile of photography as an art form is on the rise and the work of female artists is coming to global attention. This article argues for a more nuanced analysis that reflects on image objects that ‘speak back’ to issues of inequality and challenge center/periphery sightlines that remain salient within a transnational, interconnected ecosystem. ‘Picturing women’ alludes to the active intersection of the feminine as framed identity within a context of unequal power relations at the global and local level. Through the prism of three key pieces from artists Ndidi Dike, Adeola Olagunju, and Jumoke Sanwo, based in Lagos, Nigeria, I trace the use of lens-based media within their respective practice. What emerges is the relevance of enduring ways of seeing and being from a local ethnographic context that challenge the powerlessness discourse that so often frames visions of Africa. The concept of ‘impaired citizenship’ from the work of theorist Ariella Azoulay provides a helpful provocation to think about the particularities of place that photography unsettles to propose connectivity beyond borders. In conclusion, the article calls for more critical engagement with discursive questions of difference to counter persistent opacities and silences.

中文翻译：

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描绘女性：尼日利亚城市的身份、权力和摄影

摘要 在尼日利亚城市，摄影作为一种艺术形式的形象正在上升，女性艺术家的作品正受到全球关注。本文主张进行更细致入微的分析，以反映在跨国、相互关联的生态系统中仍然突出的不平等问题和挑战中心/外围视线的图像对象。“描绘女性”暗指在全球和地方层面不平等权力关系的背景下，女性作为框架身份的活跃交叉。通过来自尼日利亚拉各斯的艺术家 Ndidi Dike、Adeola Olagunju 和 Jumoke Sanwo 的三件重要作品的棱镜，我追溯了他们在各自的实践中对基于镜头的媒体的使用。出现的是从当地民族志背景中看待和存在的持久方式的相关性，这些方式挑战了经常构成非洲愿景的无力话语。理论家阿里埃拉·阿祖莱 (Ariella Azoulay) 的作品中提出的“公民身份受损”的概念提供了有益的启发，让我们思考摄影令人不安的地方的特殊性，以提出超越国界的连通性。总之，文章呼吁对差异的话语问题进行更批判性的参与，以对抗持续的不透明和沉默。