Kelechi amadi-obi biography

The definition of talent is Kelechi Amadi’s iconic story. Imagine a person who studies law in school, gets called to Bar, and leaves it all for something different and unrelated…Painting!

Kelechi Amadi-Obi is not just a painter, he is a prolific photographer, gifted artist, and publisher of Mania Magazine. 

Born December 29, 1969, to Justice Sylvester Amadi-Obi, a high court judge, and Mrs. Theresa Amadi-Obi, an educationist, Amadi-Obi is the sixth of seven children.

Kelechi Amadi had his first major break in 2001 when he was invited to Mali for a photography convention alongside some other Nigeria photographers like TY Bello and  Uche James Iruoha. 

After the event, all four decided to form a creative group with the title ‘Depth of Field’. This group was formed to attain photography excellence by forming a pact, to encourage each other and critic each other’s work.

His work in photography and visual art has earned him international recognition, featuring in many international exhibitions including Snap Judgement. 

He has been described as one of Nigeria’s groundbreaking celebrity photographers who over the years has helped put Nigeria on the world map.

In an interview with Plus Tv Africa, in 2019, He recounted what motivated him to make a difference with his art, and to achieve that, he needed to change the perception foreigners had of what Nigeria was. 

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He shared his experience about the time he visited a friend in New York, where he took out time to tour the neighbourhood, he realised that the pictures he saw online were make-believe created by good photographers and crazy concepts. There and then he decided to change the narrative, paint a new picture of what Nigeria is.

He decided to foster change, liberating the black man, to give value to the Nigerian photography business as well as

Kelechi Amadi-Obi, after obtaining a law degree and his call to bar in 1993, settled to full-time studio art. He has earned international renown for both his photography and paintings. His unique style and mastery of aesthetics and creative lighting in his paintings have been reinvented in his photography to create understanding, dynamic and result oriented photography for his clients.

Some of his works have been featured in exhibitions within and outside Nigeria. These include; 2006 “Snap Judgement” – New Position in Contemporary African Photography, International Centre of Photography, New York, USA,2005 “Depth of Field” South London Gallery, UK, 2004, “Lagos” Ifa Gallery, Stuttgart, Germany, 2003 “Transferts” Africalia, Brussels, Belgium. In 2004, he won the St.Moritz Style Award for Photography.

Some of his clients include Guiness Nigeria Plc, MTN Nigeria Plc, PZ Nigeria Plc,British American Tobacco, The Ford Foundation, PrimaGarnet Ogilvy, SO&U, InsightGrey, Nigerian Flour Mills and Orange Drugs Nigeria Ltd.

Nigerian artist

Kelechi Amadi-Obi (born December 29, 1969) is a Nigerian creative photographer, painter, artist and the publisher of Mania Magazine. His work in photography and visual art has earned him international renown featuring in many international exhibitions including Snap Judgment: New Position in contemporary African Photography, International center of photography New York (2006). He has been described as one of Nigeria's groundbreaking celebrity photographers who has "helped put Nigerian photography on the world map". Vogue calls him "a major force in the creative scene in Nigeria".

Early life and education

Born in Owerri, Imo State to the family of Justice Sylvester Amadi-Obi, a high court judge, and Mrs Theresa Amadi-Obi, an educationist, Amadi-Obi is the fifth of seven children. He attended Library Avenue Primary school, Umuahia, Abia State, and went to Government College Umuahia for his secondary education. His university education was at University Nigeria Nsukka, where he studied law.

He obtained his law degree in 1992 and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1994. While in campus, he floated a small company which he named De-Zulu. Later, he grew more interested in the art of photography and eventually, after long years of practice, became a founding member of the Nigerian photography collective Depth of Field, which had as one of its members, TY Bello who would also go on to be a successful photographer and musician.

Amadi-Obi in an interview with Onebello, a fashion magazine, when asked why he dumped law for photography, said the choice wasn't between photography and law, but between photography and art. He said he had always been an artist right from childhood. His work have been exhibited at the Lagos Photo Festival, Didi Museum,Rele Art Gallery,^[13&

Kelechi Amadi-Obi (born 1969) is a celebrated African fashion photographer. He started his career as a lawyer, before venturing into full time art in 1993. His artistic journey began with painting, giving his photography its unique creative edge, with a mastery of aesthetics and creative lighting. In 2010 Amadi-Obi launched Mania, Nigeria’s first international standard glossy fashion magazine. His work has been exhibited locally and internationally, including in Snap Judgment – A New Position in Contemporary African Photography, at the International Centre of Photography, New York, USA in 2006, in Depth of Field at the South London Gallery, UK, in 2004, in Lagos at the Ifa Gallery, in Stuttgart, Germany in 2005, in Transferts at Africalia, in Brussels, Belgium in 2003. In 2004, AmadiObi won the prestigious St.Moritz Style Award for Photography.