Kelvin Okefor | Interludes

About

Inspiration
I have always been fascinated with closed-eyed expressions, the sense of quietude that they highlight as well as the mysterious character that they bestow to the sitter. As a child I often used to question the reasons why we close our eyes while performing certain activities such as dreaming, visualising, praying or meditating. The possibility of seeing vivid images whilst our eyes were sealed shut completely enthralled me and made me wonder whether others could have had the same experience. After sharing my thoughts with friends and family, it forever inspired me to know that they too had similar experiences with their own projected imagery. At that very moment I remember feeling as though every human being had the capacity to create and enter their own unique inner worlds that no other being had access to but their mind’s eye. Through time, despite understanding some of the logical explanations as to why we close our eyes at particular moments, I still felt inclined to imagine otherwise. Mystery is what has always inspired me and is what eventually led me to create this series of portraits.