Tersoo, 2024
from my Friends In Childhood Homes project.
——
In this series, I visit and photograph my friends in their childhood homes as a tribute to the spaces that hold memories and remnants of who we used to be. I document self, growth and outgrowing, nostalgia, friendship, and the changing meaning of home.
I started this project in September 2023, but last year i became a @throughthelenscollective mentee and i’ve been growing this body of work. It’s been beautiful watching it evolve and deepen as well, even revisiting photos I took at the start of this. The images were originally in black and white because that’s what I felt ‘nostalgia’ and ‘memory’ should look like. But switching to color was the best advice my mentor gave me. My memories are full of so much color any way.
Still on a high from all the love and support i received last week 💚 Super grateful to have exhibited and sold work at the @plus234art 2025 Art Fair this year thanks to @lagosphotofestival and @sotogallery . Thank you to everyone that showed up, sent a message, shared the work and the words of kindness (and hugs).
This year I asked for more spaces and platforms to share my art and just in March alone I got to show work in two different countries/continents. Excited for the rest of the year 🌱✨
Today, we’re spotlighting Daniella Almona as part of the 2025/2026 Obodo Artist Fund cohort ✨
Daniella Almona is an Igbo photographer and visual storyteller based in Lagos, Nigeria, whose work explores Blackness, femininity, memory, joy, and human expression through both analog and digital photography. Through portraiture, they create intimate visual archives that document beauty, love, and connection within Black and Brown communities while challenging the ways these communities are often represented in media.
A graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design with a BFA in Photography, Daniella is a member of Black Women Photographers, The Luupe, and Diversify Photo, and was also a mentee of Through The Lens Collective. Their work has been exhibited across Lagos, New York, Atlanta, and the UK, including exhibitions at Photoville, +234 Art Fair, Publics Gallery, The Supermarket, and NAHOUS by Windsor Gallery.
They are also the Photo and Literary Editor at The Process Africa, where they continue to engage deeply with visual storytelling, culture, and contemporary African narratives.
I made cyanotype prints of two photos from a project I’m working on for my artist residency. This process has been so fun and humbling. Youtube and i are very locked in and i’m excited to practice with different materials 🩵💙
#cyanotypes #alternativeprocessphotography
This is one of my favorite photographs from 2024. I don’t think i’ll ever forget how the room felt when we took these. Thank you @tender.photo for featuring this image and the beautiful words 💚 It truly is an intimate act to photograph someone.
I hosted my first Open Studio for my artist residency with @obodo_nigeria at @thehumanrightshub two weeks ago. I was nervous because I stress a lot about things being perfect but it was amazing and better than I would have imagined! Thank you to everyone that came to engage with the work directly. It’s very hard to get proper feedback on your process when everything is virtual and social media is overwhelming.
I definitely want to do more of these because I love a good art gathering and critique session 💚🌱
The exhibition for this body of work is coming up and i’ll share all the details when the time comes!
M A M I W A T A
This photoshoot was dedicated to water and all that it does for us. Inspired by the forgotten water spirits that often go unnamed there’s so many things inside that water that come to provide for us in times of need.
Thank you to the bestest team
@daniellaalmona - Photographer
@teainchina_ - Styling & Fashion Designer
@okayamam_ - Makeup
💙💙💙
Thank you @vsco for sharing and highlighting my work and being in my corner for so long now (and also using the right pronouns because most people don’t). VSCO was a big part of my photography beginnings, while i was learning the type of images i wanted to shoot, figuring out my editing style and even having a platform to share the images at the time.
It’s honestly an honor to be listed alongside such talented photographers 💚
Read here:
https://vsco.co/vsco/journal/in-focus-black-voices-behind-the-lens
#blackwomenphotographers #intheluupe #blackqueerart
Ibukun, 2024
from my Friends In Childhood Homes project
-
In the conversations I have while taking the photographs, there is a recurring theme of ‘outgrowing’. Outgrowing not just the bed, the clothes, or the shoes, but the ideas and beliefs we once held on to. Through this, I question and explore my changing identity and ask myself, “As I grow, what parts of my inner child do I hold on to? What parts must I let go of?”
-
What is home to you?
Ibukun: It is a space that I call my own and have sovereignty over. It feels safe and there are no questions of how welcome I am or how long I can remain there. It is mine and I can be my own person without shame and without judgment. I can also escape to whatever world I choose for however long I please and ignore reality for as long as I want. And of course, it is where Wifi connects and there’s constant electricity
