Water Cleanses the Soul takes its title from water’s enduring symbolism as a force of renewal, purification, and emotional release. In this exhibition, Ugochukwu Emebiriodo—known as Hitch—uses water as both a physical presence and a psychological device, framing moments where environments appear suspended in quiet acts of cleansing, reflection and renewal.

In curating this exhibition, Richard Vedelago approaches the works as a sequence rather than a collection allowing rhythm, pause, and emotional tension to guide the viewer’s movement through the space. Drawing from a Hitchcockian sensibility, the curation emphasizes moments of stillness, unease, and intimacy, where water operates as a unifying thread and narrative device. Each image is positioned to encourage slow looking, inviting viewers into a cinematic encounter where meaning unfolds gradually through atmosphere and suggestion rather than resolution.

These photos span from 2018- 2025, Hitch has travelled across 28 Nigerian states and parts of West Africa, building a personal archive of street photographs that shift attention away from expected narratives of Africa. His images merge the everyday with the avant-garde, offering tender yet incisive observations of life as it unfolds. Rejecting inherited perspectives, Water Cleanses the Soul situates the ordinary as profound. Influenced by pioneering and contemporary African photographers alike, Hitch invites the viewer to pause, breathe, and encounter these images as moments of quiet purification—where seeing itself becomes an act of cleansing.

Lagos has been integral to my development as a photographer, in part because it is considered by many to be the cultural hub of Sub-Saharan Africa, drawing in millions of people from all walks of life. The vestige of these cacophony of cultures and experiences is universally and enticingly human. Everyday there are instances that one can connect with irrespective of origin, moments of visual serendipity, that capture ubiquitous vignettes of life. Photographing Lagos streets isn’t for the faint hearted, the city challenges an artist both physically and mentally but it also teaches bravery and patience. Drawing inspiration from these quotidian experiences, I have for the past four years travelled across 28 of Nigeria’s 36 states and parts of West Africa creating images that I’ve self-curated on my personal Instagram account: @hitchoflife

Making photographs that capture a personal perspective to the uniqueness of African streets and the beauty of its everyday people. Making images for me is akin to breathing and traveling for me makes my heart race. My photography is a glimpse into how my mind works, I am constantly thinking in frames and angles. An enquiry into everything and anything, always ready to go closer and interact with absolute strangers. With my photography, I intend to shift the focus away from the expected preconceived narrative of rural Africa to a level such artistic works merges with the everyday and avant-garde. I love to learn and to travel is to learn. Given my strong skill-set and commitment to learning, I am constantly looking for new avenues to improve myself and my work. A photographer I adore, Richard Kavlar said “Any intelligent photographer who comes to a new and strange city is. Going to see things differently from someone who lives there.” For every town I have set foot in, I have photographed with a tenderness that reflects my state of mind using the camera only as a tool of record.

I want to give people a window into everyday life through a trajectory that is unique yet reminiscent of pioneering African photographers such as Michel Kameni, James Barnor and Malick Sidibe, while also incorporating the creative cohesion of esteemed photographers like Babatunde Adeniyi Jones, Andrew Esiebo and George Osodi, who have influenced my creative process by their holistic approach to photography and their immense dedication to the craft.