The Origins Of Vision: In Conversation With James Acaí
THIS JOURNAL BELONGS TO
CALEB CHURCH
James Acai makes a regular practice of pouring his life’s experience beautifully through the lens of his camera.
What catches one's eye about James Acai is his use of minimalism; a character trait that runs deeply. It’s not just minimalism though, it’s his oneness of spirit.
6 MINS READ TIME
James is bringing a certain awareness of spirit that many may argue is what separates a real artist from everyone else. He is a creative who truly feels connected, fully integrated, and intentional in his work, conversation, and way of living.
Through hearing about his childhood experiences at home, in school, and living between two countries, how his unique vision of the world formed is clear.
As a global citizen, James was born in Los Angeles, before moving to Nigeria at the age of 5; where his family lineage originates. Crediting the black and white photos his family brought with them on their move, he began to fall in love with their simplicity. There was something about the contrast in black and white, and how only two colors can carry so much. Digging further still, we uncovered the connection of fruit to his body of work; how he’s reliving sweet moments from his childhood through the lens of his camera.
The spirit of the conversation was light, although naturally, we spoke of how recent events have affected his work and sense of being in the world.
James Acai is a person who truly knows what it means to speak through every drop of color he drops before us; and you’ll want to hear what he has to say.
CC: When did you start your career as a photographer?
JA: 2019 marks the last time that I swore I would clock into a 9-5 job. I wanted to see myself as more of a professional in the industry when it came to photography and creating content in general. I knew it was going to be a risk, especially since everyone in my family were doctors and nurses.
I grew up in the family where if you're doing art, it's not taken seriously, and you should not even mention it. It’s like “what are you doing?” or “so you're gonna get an art degree? Who does that?” But people keep forgetting that everything around us is art.
Even the doctors and the lawyers and all that you guys talk about… When you look at the syringe, the doctor's uniform, the table, there was an artist that designed all of that. So I even had this conversation with a friend one time about how much artists are being disrespected. People are not understanding the values of what we contribute to the world. And without me here, without you here, without all of us who have the kind of eye that we have, a lot of these things would not be accomplished. So I've always had to get into arguments, but I'm not into that business anymore. If now they don’t understand it, with time they will.
I’ve always been procrastinating taking this more seriously. But in March 2020, one of my friends mentioned some type of virus getting out there. I said “OK, this is true.” I didn’t know what to do with myself. I’m thinking, “Is this the movie 2012?” Once they announced the first lockdown, it was then that I got a journal, and I started thinking about what I could do with what would be those first 30 days.
CC: What do you think was the biggest benefit you got out of that exercise?
JA: I stopped procrastinating. That was the biggest benefit that I got from it. I really thought about what procrastinating means. I thought about everything that I set out to do when I was 17 - 22 years old. I finally did all of those things in less than 30 days. I got a sewing machine, I started designing, and I started sketching. There were so many things that I could do. So, I looked at the 30 days and decided that during the month, I would become a master of three things. And I did.
CC: Tell me a bit about some of the influences that shaped your vision.
JA: I was born in L.A, and when I was five years old, my parents and I moved to Nigeria, I spent about 16 years there, and I came back to the States when I was 18 or maybe 19. When I came back to the States, I was so excited for it. I'm not gonna lie to you, living in Nigeria was a beautiful experience for me, but if I were to go back, I would see through a completely different lens. When I was back there, I didn't feel the most complete or satisfied. I did not know that I had a place.. You know what I mean? I was really a confused kid when I was in high school because there were not a lot of people like me. The things that I feel like I possess artistically or whatever; I felt like I was locked in. You know what I mean? Just like I'm trying to go through a door, I'm trying to push right through the door, but I cannot do that. I don’t have the strength to. And by not having the strength, I’m referring to the environment I’m in. Is it inspiring me at all to get through that door?
Photo: James Acai
CC: What in your experiences lead you to photography specifically?
JA: Now that I think of it, I think I have always been into photographs. When we went back to our house in Nigeria, we lived in the eastern part. We also had a big house and forest everywhere. And then about 6 miles you have to walk, there's a cliff that people jump from. Yeah, it was just very interesting when I would go to these places. I didn't know much about photography at the time, I didn't know anything about photography. I would always just keep those memories captured but in my mind. Very special moments from the time I was 5, 6, 7, 8, up until now. I didn’t know that I’d be doing photography. But if I went back there, I could go to the same places. I could walk the same path that I took to school.
I really like that my sister and I, really early, would walk to school. You know, we would have to get up very early to walk 10 or 12 miles to school because they close the gates at a certain time. You know you don’t want to be sent home. Some people would say “Oh these things are very hard. You shouldn’t walk to school.” But I really loved those things. I found beauty in them. My sister and I would walk to school and pick the fruits in the bushes while we walked. I didn’t think to capture it, but I just started doing that.
CC: I see the lines between what you're talking about. Growing up and living those moments throughout your life like picking up fruit on your walk to school and the fruit in your portfolio. Your work is very minimal. It's just focused on one idea or experience at a time. It's almost like you're subconsciously reliving those moments every time you pick up the camera.
JA: It was unconsciously happening, to be honest with you. I didn't know I was creating these things. It's like, okay, I'm doing this thing, but I did not know really that I am redoing those things that I have done before; those memories that I still have in my mind. So coming back to the States, this is around 2012, 2013…around that time. I was looking for things to inspire me. At the time, my sister had this little Cyber Shot type of camera, you know like self-starter cameras. She wasn't using it. So I took it, and I would always go. I went everywhere in L.A. At the time, I would jump on a train or a bus. I went everywhere and anywhere. I would just take pictures and more pictures. I was just so excited to be in the city.
Photo: James Acai
CC: What has been driving your creativity since you’ve been back in L.A?
JA: You can go near or far and it’s always sunny, and you’re always “somewhere.” Something about the weather. And then there are the people. Even the people that I see come from all over the world make L.A more colorful. Some people say L.A is fake but I say, yeah, but you can find fake people in Nigeria. Fake people are everywhere. But one thing I do all the time, is detach. I always focus on this; the things that I like. You know how people go on their blog or their social media and say they don’t like this artist, etc. I’m like… You really shouldn’t… Not to say that people shouldn’t do what they want to do, but I don’t like to do that. You see the thing is I still have a private life, and people don’t seem to understand that. The things you see on here are just everything I like. Shooting photographs, my style, the places I go, the things that I eat.. Sometimes.
CC: Where does your sense of minimalism come from?
JA: I’ve always thought less is more. And I’ve always just seen beauty in minimal things. Like a space with nothing but a chain in it is like “wow”, and it speaks volumes to me. And if I had to describe that to someone, they might get where I’m coming from, but I don’t think they’re really ready. I can get into it; there’s a story behind every image of what it means to me. But I think my love for minimalism just comes from thinking less is more, and that means so much. You go into a room, and it’s what… a table and a half eaten fruit roll-up. Or maybe a half eaten burger on the table with one fry… or three fries, and you just capture that and talk about food or health. So for me it’s always the image and the story behind it. There was a point where I would write a whole paragraph in the caption. But do I get people’s attention? Where the world is going, people don’t read anymore. You’ve got to really create an image to describe what you’re talking about. So I tried to shorten everything, even down to the caption. If you want to come to my art viewing, you get the story. I also only put out so much so that people can remain invested.
CC: What is the biggest challenge you've had to overcome in your career?
JA: [Implicit Racial Bias] At the time, I decided to work for a brand. And this one company decided that they were going to hire me to do the social media for the brand. They also wanted me to create original content for them. At the time, I was just excited to be in a space like that. Like, maybe just don’t worry about the money. I should be excited to be in that space. I should be excited to create interesting, original, exhausting content for them; them knowing, and me not knowing the value of the work that I was putting in. But I was just being this excited little individual in the space that’s been given the opportunity to create content.
At this point I thought to myself, I’m an image producer. I’m producing original content that will go on to make a lot of money for them. For example, if you look at Pinterest, people are making a lot of capital off of Pinterest. You see an image and someone has it posted to their board for everyone to see. You may not know it, but that image is traveling internationally and bringing in a lot of money for brands. Sometimes they’re bringing 5 - 50K every other month, meanwhile I’m just getting maybe a few thousand dollars.
So this brand that I will not name was based in Compton. Particularly when you think of Compton, I think that people who look like me should be working in these spaces. But that is not what you saw at this brand. Everyone looked at me so… there’s a good look and a bad look. I got a lot of the bad look. And I felt so uncomfortable. But just because I was excited about how much work I was going to do for this brand, and because I was excited to be in this space, I sucked all of the experience in and did not worry about it.
CC: In a world and industry that can be so corrosive, do you find yourself editing what you consume to help protect your mental space?
JA: Yes. There was a time where I would go onto those gossip sites and be so invested in their lives and the things that they would do. Even so much as commenting or talking about these people from the comfort of my own home; talking about a certain artist, or just saying really negative things. I didn’t know how much those negative things were harming me. It was something that I really had to focus on unlearning, and going back to whatever kind of energy I don’t want people to bring to me, I can’t bring to the world myself.
I ended up cutting off a lot of friends. A lot of these people I still have love for, but I’m not able to be that type of person. The kind of involvement that I was able to have in the past, I’m not able to have with them. I believe your friends should be there to support you and be the best friend.
CC: As someone who pulls so much inspiration from life experience, how have you been keeping your vision alive?
JA: I exercise..I won’t say a lot, but I'm very moderate. I cycle a lot. I journal and I write things. I listen to a lot of music. I don’t want to say a lot of music. I don’t want to describe it as sad music, but think Frank Ocean, think Lana Del Ray and artists similar to those people. I listen to their music a lot and I love to create [to it].
There is a photo that I have based off of a Frank Ocean song. I think it’s called Nature Feels; an unreleased track where he mentions a Cherry. And I was so inspired by this track, and how it was just a very sexy song that used nature. One of the background singers, Brandy, happens to be one of my favorite singers of all times and she did the background vocals. So, hearing that, and then hearing how everything came together really inspired me. I don’t have a garden, but I created an image based on that song.
CC: What are you doing now, and what are you most excited for coming out of the pandemic?
JA: Well the pandemic is still going, so I guess coming out of it. I’ve made a lot of connections. The people who were supposed to have seen my work have seen it right now. I do not know what the future holds, and I’m not afraid of what’s to come. I hope it’s a lot of good things, because I’ve done a lot of good. As an artist, it’s draining when you’re doing all of this and receiving nothing back. After all of the years, people are finally getting to notice me. I’m just as excited as I was when I started photography. I’ve learned a lot, and I have a lot of stories to tell now.
CC: What is one piece of advice you would give to a creative just starting their journey?
JA: I would say “do not be afraid.” But I feel like there is fear in a lot of us after 2020. You should really consult with the universe to know if you’re wasting your time or not. Because, let’s be honest, this field is not for everyone. Like I said, you have to have a backbone because there will be a lot of dirty things that will happen to you. Being an artist is like having the whole world shooting arrows at you, and you’re dodging from this side and that because you don’t know where it’s coming from. You have to be alert all the time. You have to ask yourself, “is this the path that I’m really ready to take?” And if it is, then you have to be ready to work. You have to be ready to work to not be afraid. Because when you’re afraid, you’re not going to do the work.