As Campbell Addy relaunches the magazine he started in college, he spoke with Alayo Akinkugbe about the magazine, LGBTQ+ rights in Ghana, and why his motto is “I’m here to educate, not inspire.”
Campbell Addy is a London-based Ghanaian-British photographer, filmmaker, and artist best known for his fashion photography. He is also the founder of the magazine Niijournal. “I’m a big believer in multiple roles as an artist,” he explains. Niijournal began in 2016 as Addy’s graduate project at Central Saint Martins, with the aim of addressing the lack of black representation in fashion and cultural magazines.
The fourth edition of Niijournal is themed “Pride?”, and is the first since 2018. After a six-year hiatus (during which Addy’s career has gone from strength to strength), Niijournal has given Addy a platform to explore her creativity, tell important stories beyond her own work, and showcase photography that wouldn’t be published in an exhibition or magazine commission.
Niijournal’s motto is ‘We are here to educate, not inspire.’ From an international perspective, issue four looks at issues surrounding both queer pride and national pride in the wake of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation passed in Ghana in February this year.
In the conversation below, Addy speaks to Dazed about the birth of Niijournal, the importance of Black archives, and his belief that “everyone is a star.”
This is the first issue of Niijournal since 2018, why do you feel now is the right time to bring it back?
Campbell Addy: Niijournal started in 2016 as my final major project in college. [the subsequent issues] They were published in 2017 and 2018. But I had a lot going on in my life at the time and I didn’t want to just do it. I wanted to control my own space and release every six months without having to compete with publishing schedules. I always tell people, take your time, your timeline is your own.
rear [my exhibition] I love Campbell. I had a lot of ideas that had nothing to do with me or my work, so I was like, “Oh, Niijournal is coming.” But the real catalyst was that Ghana was going to pass a bill on February 28th, and I wrote a poem called “February 28th.” I had a passion inside of me, I knew what I wanted to talk about, and I was subconsciously researching for it. I knew exactly what the cover would be, and I knew what the connections would be throughout the magazine. It’s about queerness, it’s about pride, it’s about community.
You were still studying at Central Saint Martins when you launched Niijournal in 2016 – what inspired you to start it back then?
Campbell Addy: I originally intended to make it a photo book, but my supervisor at the time, Judith Watt, asked me, “Are you just a photographer?” She said, “Think about it.” I remember thinking, “I can’t write, I have dyslexia.” And she said, “Write how you want to write, not how you think you should write.”
So I started making something called the Bible. [still] My studio was just a scrapbook of thoughts. It was a solid place, not digital. [realised] I wanted to create a diary of everything I’m interested in. I can take pictures, but I also have other talents. My mom pushed me to push myself harder, and that’s when Niijournal was born. I was able to collaborate with others while still being myself. And it was a place to put my photography work that I didn’t think was accepted. At the time, there were no black photographers in the spotlight in the photography world.
Niijournal Issue 4: Pride? Provided by NiijournalNiijournal Issue 4: Pride? Provided by Niijournal
Is Niijournal based on your aesthetic language as a photographer and filmmaker?
Campbell Addy: Yes, but also not. I’m flipping through the magazine now and I’m like, “I know I took these pictures, but this feels like a new language in the evolution of my image-making.” But still, this is the same language as Nijournal I, where I was literally embedding subliminal messages in the work. I think it’s Campbell Addy’s mature eye. There are metaphors for me, but aesthetically, [for example] If it’s in the gallery but doesn’t have a caption, [wouldn’t] It’s not necessarily, “Oh, it’s Campbell.”
So Niijournal is the best place to feature these images.
Campbell Addy: Yes, that’s right. All the images are made for Niijournal. I don’t know if they can be published in other magazines. [they] It will have the same cultural relevance.
“I’m excited [our] “Despite our differences, I am fascinated by our similarities. I hope that people will look at this and understand that history repeats itself, and that we can resist it in a poetic way in our souls.” – Campbell Addy
Niijournal’s motto is ‘We’re here to educate, not inspire.’ Where did this motto come from?
Campbell Addy: [encouraged] Niijournal gave me a little book about Ignatius Sancho. It was very simple, and I don’t think she understood how much it meant to me to read about a black man who was a poet and a grocer during what I thought was slavery. It touched my heart.
I couldn’t keep quiet. [about it]I was talking about it on a Facebook forum, and I naively didn’t realize the backlash I would receive. [online]I understood that racism was widespread, but I didn’t understand that it was stupid. As Tina Knowles says, [in Solange Knowles’ album A Seat At the Table] “Celebrating black culture doesn’t mean I hate white culture or disparage white culture. It just means I’m proud of it.”
After I posted the article on Facebook, I had a conversation with a childhood friend and we got into an argument. I ended up saying, “I’m just here to educate. I’m not here to annoy you.” This is the core of who I am. This is where I come from.
Though the images are international, the focus seems to remain on the black experience.
Campbell Addy: My initial inspiration is always based on what I want to see. [in this case it was] Black queerness. It’s educational, but this issue is very journalistic. There’s an entire essay and story about the famous Japanese photographer, Mao Ishikawa. She’s in the magazine because in the 70s, Okinawa had a US military base and there was a lot of interaction between blacks and Japanese people. She documents that and comments on racial inequality in her essays and her photos. There’s also a section on blacks in Japan. [in the journal].
Niijournal Issue 4: Pride? Provided by NiijournalNiijournal Issue 4: Pride? Provided by Niijournal
Why did you choose the theme “Pride” for this issue of Niijournal?
Campbell Addy: This has a two-fold meaning. [Ghanian anti-LGBTQ+] It contributes not only to legislation but also to national pride. The cover shows a man lying on the Black Star. [of the Ghanaian flag] Because we are Black Stars. We are all stars, and I feel like that was forgotten when the bill was enacted on February 28th. [The image] Not only are they trying to resemble a star, but they’re also trying to resemble how it feels to have a country fighting against you for your existence.
On the back cover, the girls in the pageant say they are very proud of where they come from, which made me think that despite the trials and tribulations that queer people go through, we are proud of where we come from, but where does that pride come from if it outlaws us? [the models on the back cover] These are countries that have made LGBTQ+ people illegal in some way.
What do you want readers to take away from this issue?
Campbell Addy: My instinct is, I want people to understand how different we are. [our] Despite our differences, I am fascinated by our similarities. I hope people will see this and understand that history repeats itself, and that we can resist it in a poetic way that speaks to our souls. I may not take a gun and go to war, but I will document it. And I hope people will understand that Black archives are important.
I hope that in 40 years’ time, someone will look at this and laugh and say, ‘Wow, Ghana did that?’ I hope it inspires people to shine a light on what really matters, because the world can be so dark sometimes, but hope is what changes the world.
Issue 4 of Niijournal, “Pride?”, is now available. Buy it here.
