Through My Lens- RETE POKI
Rete Poki, a talented photographer, director, and filmmaker, recently shared insights into his creative journey, influences, and favorite works with Deeds Magazine. His latest project, "Everything Lasts and Nothing Ends," is a short film about two people who fall in love with Lagos and each other over the course of a few days. Inspired by the vibrant energy of Lagos, Poki drew inspiration from Wong Kar-Wai’s films, particularly "Chunking Express" and "In The Mood For Love," where cities and landscapes become vivid characters. He also speaks about his admiration for photographers Deana Lawson and Renell Medrano, known for their sensual and intense depictions of dark skin and Black life, and how he blends their techniques with the unique dynamism of Lagos in this project.
Poki’s favorite work, "Every Nigga Is A Star," holds immense sentimental value as it involved working with his younger brother. Created during a tumultuous period, the project was a cathartic exploration of Black boyhood, imagining a reality where they experience affirmations, security, and love instead of pain and trauma. The project drew inspiration from primary school reward stickers and ritual scarification, reimagining these elements in a nurturing context.
His creative process is intuitive and tactile, beginning with condensing ideas into a single feeling he wishes the completed work to evoke. Extensive research follows, immersing himself in art, music, and memories that align with this sensation. This research helps Poki develop his artistic sensibilities and ensures thematic consistency across his projects. By continuously refining ideas based on their alignment with the initial feeling, Poki creates cohesive and impactful visual stories that resonate deeply with his audience.
Inspiration behind my Latest piece
I just wrapped production on a short film about two people that spontaneously meet over thelast few days of a trip and fall in love with Lagos and each other. It's called “Everything Lastsand Nothing Ends”. It was really inspired by Lagos and the energy around it. I think the cityreally personifies intense desire and yearning. I pulled a lot from Wong Kar-Wai’s films,Chunking Express and In The Mood For Love. I love the way the cities and landscapesbecome vibrant characters themselves in those films and the gorgeous way the characterspush and pull against those backdrops and each other. I also took a lot of inspiration fromthe photographers, Deana Lawson and Renell Medrano. There’s an incredible sensualityand intensity in the way they capture dark skin and black life that I really embraced in thevisual approach. I love the way Medrano lights, and Lawson poses, her characters and reallywanted to juxtapose elements of their imagery against the unique gra gra of Lagos. I got aton of ideas from general day to day life and the unreal scenes that play out in the streetsevery other day. I feel as though you don't need to look too far to find stories that touch inthis environment.
My Favorite work so far
I think one of my favourite projects would definitely be my Every Nigga Is A Star essay.Aside from the immense sentimental value in working with my younger brother again in ourhome, the project itself emerged during a relatively tumultuous time and it was such acathartic process to create those images. It's a common thread in the recollections of somany black boys to experience or grow numb to constant pain and trauma. It's almostframed as a rite of passage and then to wear those scars and flaunt that pain proudly asthey grow older.. And I wanted to imagine an alternative reality where rather than hurt, theseboys could comfortably recount years of affirmations, security, and love and support. I drewinspiration from the stickers you would get for good behaviour in primary school and alsofrom literal ritual scarification and tribal marks that are still present in some communities inNigeria.
My Creative Process
Generally, my creative process is pretty simple and almost tactile. Although my practice isvisual, I really do create based on gut feelings. I usually start by condensing all my ideas orenergy to a single feeling that I’d like the completed work to evoke. Deciding what thatfeeling should be is usually the hardest part really but it makes everything else down the lineso much easier by acting as an anchor as the ideas and, the elements required to executethem, become more complex.
Once I'm sure of what that end feeling should be, I do a ton of research and try to immersemyself in art, music, memories and activities that give me a similar sensation and find the connecting threads and common motifs or imagery in all of those that evoke that originalfeeling in me.
Research, as a process in itself, can be insanely useful and fun and gives me a muchclearer idea of what has been done and what can be done within the scope of the specificproject. It also helps me as an artist develop my own sensibilities about what I would like myown work to look and feel like.
As I’m collating references and possible practical or technical approaches,I'm constantlycomparing them to the original gut feeling that I would want the final project to represent.Continuously filtering possibilities based on their proximity to the initial feel helps a lot inensuring cohesion and thematic consistency across the project. Then it's really just throwingthose ideas together into a treatment doc that (hopefully) inspires or convinces the client andthe creative team.
