Ali Baba: A different kind of Wisdom – TY Bello writes

By ‘Dayo Showemimo

ALIBABA :A DIFFERENT KIND OF WISDOM When I got commissioned to make portraits of @alibabagcfr for his 50th birthday anniversary ,I knew I was in for something really special . I decided it wasn’t necessary to pre- sketch any ideas but let the shoot evolve organically . I didn’t want to bring in props .. I just asked him to make interesting narratives with ordinary objects in the room.. This way of photographing was parallel to what I find in his comedy: taking familiar Nigerian scenarios and getting us all to laugh at our selves…We were in for a show.. We laughed till we cried. !! Photographing him and from our conversations in the past ,I’ve found him to be one of the deepest thinkers of our time..I’ve learnt to look and listen past his comedy and connect with his profound commentary on our culture.. He has not only changed the way we humor but he generally has us decoded…How we think and behave.. The politics .. Society .. Religion .. Business.. He gets what makes us tick..What makes us ‘us’.. Expressing this with real genius ..while creating new platforms for this gift …opening doors for a new generation of comedians. Today … I will be celebrating a great Icon , businessman and all-round amazing individual .Happy birthday Alibaba.. Thank you for fanning to flame a movement .. You make us all proud. Starting now .. I’m going to attempt to share 50 posts from his sessions and have you all caption and share with him .(In this photo ,he’s playing music conductor with 2 mangled spines from one of my soft boxes) #tybellophotography #photostories #alibabaAt50 #genius #whatsyourstory #captionthis

A photo posted by TY Bello (@tybello) on Jun 24, 2015 at 3:12am PDT

Celebrity photographer, singer and mother of twin boys, TY Bello has joined other Nigerian celebrities to wish comedy pioneer Ali Baba a happy 50th birthday.

In her special message to the foremost comedian, TY Bello titled it ‘Ali Baba: A different kind of Wisdom’ where she sings his praises to high heavens on the altar of unassuming greatness and boundless creativity.