This image was made at Espace Tchif, an art and cultural space founded by an artist of the same name (Tchif), this is the image of the renowed Nigerian writer, Wole Soyinka at the Theatre space of Espace Tchif. The image was made in 2010, during the second edition of the Invisible Borders Road Trip.
Image Title: Here is Wole, Where are the Audience?, Amaize Ojeikere. Cotonou - Republic of Benin. 2010

From the Trans-African Road Trip Project since 2009

Since 2009, Invisible Borders has organized road trips across African cities and borders, and recently European cities. Taking off from Lagos, their destinations have included: Bamako, Dakar, Addis Ababa, Libreville, and Sarajevo. The journey has taken them through cities and towns known only to the wayfarer and vagrant—Diema, Ekok, Mamfe, Ferkessedougou, Bitam, Maiduguri, Kousseri, Gamboru-Ngala, Kidira, Ekok, Kayes, for instance—and through ordeals faced by illegal migrants. An “invisible border” has not, in the course of the project, suggested the absence of borders, bureaucratic bottlenecks, or corrupt officials. But it has suggested an experiment in the blurring of border-lines through movement: the rolling of tyres, the trudging of feet, the body of artists’ in constant motion.

Is there any value in reflecting on habitual occurrences? These occurrences, some might argue, is the result of a redoubtable colonial legacy, the bustling attempts at survival in chaotic metropolises, or perhaps the characteristic underdevelopment that gives Africa its peculiar narrative. The work of Invisible Borders since inception has appropriated ordinariness quite differently.

Artists and writers who have traveled as part of the project did not insist on showing everyday spaces—like markets, streets, restaurants, roads, and malls—as places in need of repair or development. But as places where life occurs without judgment, with mirth, theatricality, and beauty. This approach has not lessened the severity of the continent’s contradictions. It has proposed a subtler, more graceful look.

In this collection, we share selected photographic oeuvres from various editions Road Trip accompanied by captions that elaborate specific contexts and reflections referenced by the images.

Note: To access captions, click on the "i" (info) icon at the base of the image slide.

When we set out to photograph the continent through these travel, what was immediately interesting was that it came natural to us to begin with our everyday space. And that was how we began. This for me was the first real attempt at transcending the borders. Because most of the time photographers or artists from the continent in general had imbibed the mentality that to tell a story, one must ignore the everyday occurrences which by the way were seen as banal. The quest for the extra-ordinary led to a certain contempt for everyday space. 
But when we look at this in the African context, this is not true, there is nothing banal in the everyday space, on the contrary that space is where the temperaments, personalities and the perpetual attempt to transcend societal limitations become all the more apparent.
Image Title: The cunningham st. meeting | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | Emeka Okereke | IB 2011.
Twin Walk | Khartoum, Sudan | Emeka Okereke | IB 2011
Such a City | Yaounde, Cameroon | Lilian Novo Isioro | IB 2012
Smuggler | Koussiri (Cameroon - Tchadian border) | Ray Daiels Okeugo | IB 2011.

The 2011 road trip was very challenging, more so because we traveled with a lot of caution given that our route was all conflict ridden. When we got into ethiopia, we had our first sense of relief, but also a sense of accomplishment. This portait was a manifestation of that. Pictured from left to right is: Emmanuel Iduma, Emeka Okereke, Kemi Akin Nibosun, Ala Kheir, Ray Daniels Okeugo, Nana Oforiatta-Ayim and Jumoke Sanwo.
Image title: Portrait of Group in Ethiopia | Goha Bridge, Ethiopia | Emeka Okereke | IB 2012.
Lilian Novo Isioro is a photographer who is drawn to photographing women, not for the mere sake of making an interesting subject of them, but because she identifies with them in their struggles to transcend  the stereotypes attached to womanhood. In her work during the Invisible Borders road trip 2012, she was dedicated to championing them, portraying them not as victims of circumstances but conquerors. This image is a part of larger body of work titled
Ray Daniels Okeugo was known for his ability to capture the uncanny, the akward and often the
Nna Olopa | Lagos, Nigeria | Ray Daniels Okeugo | IB 2011
Gabon is a sparsely populated country with about 1.6million people. It is estimated that over 300,000 Nigerians live in Gabon. Most of its citizens work in the oil rich government establishments; while foreigners dominate the local business in areas of food, clothing, music sales, electronics, auto spare parts and taxi. These portraits explore the paradoxical stories of Africans living on another African soil with reported incidents of xenophobic discrimination and socio-political nightmare.
A number of Nigerians who fled Nigeria during the Biafran war are now resident in Gabon. There are also others who arrived travelling through a deadly sea in search of a promised greener pasture. Most would agree that the economy of Gabon is far better than Nigeria while some, entrapped in circumstances far beyond their control, feel there is no place like home.
Their stories recount their experiences, the dangers of migrating through the sea, challenges of starting a new life in a francophone country, a frictional relationship with the authorities, and the threatening fear of returning back to their homeland as empty as when they came. Jide folowed a few of these nigerians living in Libreville photographing them consistently during his 10-days stay in the framework of the Invisible Borders road trip. More images from this series can be found in Jide Odukoya's artist page. 
Image Title: Missaliyath-12years (Nigerians in Libreville Series), Jide Odukoya | Libreville
This image was made at Espace Tchif, an art and cultural space founded by an artist of the same name (Tchif), this is the image of the renowed Nigerian writer, Wole Soyinka at the Theatre space of Espace Tchif. The image was made in 2010, during the second edition of the Invisible Borders Road Trip.
Image Title: Here is Wole, Where are the Audience?, Amaize Ojeikere. Cotonou - Republic of Benin. 2010
One of Jumoke's project during the 3rd edition of the road trip was the
Emeka Okereke says: This is image was a result of performative collaborations between the partcipants of the road trip, but also a passerby, whom we stopped in his tracks and asked for his umbrella in order to make this work. The act of lending his umbrella to us, now constitute one of the ways we invite the audience to become actors in a collaborative creation. It is important to also note that what sparked the intention to make the photo was the fact that I had been informed by Landry that the spot used to be the office of a very famous news agency notorious for their outspokenness in favour of the people against the government of Paul Biya who has been ruling Cameroun for over 30 years. This act of turning the spot into a space of contemplation was then imbodied by this image, but also by the intervention of the passerby who lent us his umbrella while he stood in the rain and waited, as well as the Asian man who was obviously running to his office, and in the process caused a
This is a sattire in relation to the political situation in Tchad. Here we see the dictator and head of state Idris Deby Itno, sprawled out in white in a billboard which in turn is careful placed in Avenue Charles de Gaulle just between his Residential building and the airport of N'djamena. Images of these kind litter the whole city, championing the head of state as the messiah of the people, but in that same city, one need not walk too far to encounter appalling contradicitions of that very fact.
Image Title: Le President | N'djamena, Tchad | Emeka Okereke | IB 2011
Deidoboy is a young entrepreneur living in the bustling suburb of Deido in Douala. He makes customised T-shirts and jeans from local materials. Being Diedo’s finest clothmaker, he has been able to work with musicians and small business owners in improving their public image. His aspiration is to build a brand across Cameroon, Africa and beyond. He feeds his family with his increasing profit, works hard each day, making new friends and living his dream. Jide Odukoya spent most of his stay in Douala during the road trip, photographing him, creating a narrrative of his endeavours, his entrepeneurial nature as a symbol of that defiant idealistic energy imbued in most of today's generation of Africans, more specifically of Douala.
Image Title: Making Douala and Beyond |Deido Boy Series by Jide Odukoya | Douala, Cameroun, 2012
This image was made at the Utako Motor park in Abuja, during the team's brief stop in Abuja. It was the office of the President of the Motor Park association where the artist and his colleagues were waiting for information as regards the safety of travelling to Jos and Maidugiri. There were lots of concern for securirty given that the team would traverse maidugiri, the operational ground of Boko Haram, then Tchad and eventually Sudan all the way to Ethiopia.
Image Title: Heavy is the Head with the Crown, Abuja - Nigeria, Emeka Okereke. IB 2011
This is the longest bridge in Ethiopia as photographed by Ala Kheir during a brief stop of the IB 2011 team on the way to Addis Ababa from Khartoum.
Goha Bridge, Wara Jarso - Ethiopia, Ala Kheir, IB 2011.
This image is part of a larger body of work called
Following Priest | Minkok, Cameroun | Ray Daniels Okeugo | IB 2012
This work was made in Accra, Ghana by Charles Okereke during the 2nd edition of the Invisible Borders Road Trip from Lagos to Dakar. It is representative of his engagement with texts, icons and symbols which embodies sensibilities of the street and informality of the everyday space. It then goes beyond the written text in the image to address the issue of gender tensions, not necessarily in a conflicting context, but in an inquisitive and curious sense.
Image Title: Fear Woman | Kumasi | Charles Okereke.| IB2010

Behind the Rider I, Lucy Azubuike, IB 2010
Coconut Chips | Bamako, Mali | Amaize Ojeikere | IB 2010
This image forms a part of a body of work titled
Emeka Okereke says: As we traveled through Aba in Nigeria, we experienced many deserted petrol stations. It created a perfect setting to create this work which is a subtle reference to the paradox of the oil industry and that of all ntural resources as a whole. It is important to  note that this was as a result of a collaboration with Emmanuel Iduma, the writer of the road trip. Images of this sort embodies the many acts of interaction, reflection and collaboration between artists of the road trip across disciplines and mediums.

Image Title: Dilemma of the New Age(from Series: Exploring A Void) | Aba, Nigeria | Emeka Okereke |IB 2012
This image was made in the popular downtown area of Addis Ababa, known as Piassa. It has been exhibited and published frequently in Magazines and journals. It also became the poster image for the 3rd edition of the IB road trip in 2012. The image was made during the 3rd edition of the IB road trip in which Ala Kheir was a participant, travelling with the team from Khartoum to Addis Ababa.
Image Title: Equilibrium, Addis Ababa - Ethiopia, Ala Kheir, IB 2011
Emeka Okereke says: We came in here to eat, but eventually we did not find the kind of food we wanted, but I struck off a conversation with the lady, who was looking so cool in her hat that evening. She was the extrovert with all the swags, and the guy seemed more like laid back.. My intention was to convey this in an image that has both of them in it. I posed them according to how I wanted them to sit,...no it was not a candid photo, it was very deliberate.
Image Title: Be The Me | Yaounde, Cameroun | Emeka Okereke |IB 2012
This image embodies that  improvisation and sponteinity in the arrangement of people and spaces that is typical within an African context. At Invisible Borders, we are drawn to images that alludes to the inventiveness of the everyday space. The representation of intersections of people, things and spaces. Often times that everyday space embodies the ingenuity of the attempts by the people to circumvent limitations they are subject to as a result of a deficient socio-economic system.
A day in Marche Centrale | Yaounde, Cameroun | Jide Odukoya |IB2012