badagry slave route
Lagos - Andréas Lang
"Badagry Slave Route" , Nigeria 2017
Title and Text
LAGOS. A Story of Disappearance

It is a story of return, but above all a story of disappearance that is repeated.

Not far from Lagos City in Nigeria is the former slave port of Badagry. From here slaves were shipped to the Americas, especially Brazil.

In the heart of Lagos City, on Lagos Island, is the Brazilian Quarter, a historical quarter which was built up and inhabited by so-called retornados in the middle of the 19th century. The retornados were slaves released by their Portuguese masters in Brazil and who returned to the homeland of their ancestors. The retornados integrated themselves into the British colonial system and were active in the transantlatic trade. Soon they formed a new elite and bourgeoisie in Nigeria. The Catholic schools with their strict discipline and upbringing also played a central role in this social rise. The schools still exist and the descendants of the retornados bear the Portuguese surnames of their ancestors. The historical buildings of the Brazilian Quarter are falling into ruins or are threatened with demolition, due to speculation, so-called developers and a rapidly growing megalopolis of 22 million inhabitants.

macauley's statue
Lagos - Andréas Lang
"Herbert Macauley's Statue" , Lagos/Nigeria 2017
brazilian quarter street
Lagos - Andréas Lang
"Street in the Brazilian Quarter" , Lagos/Nigeria 2017
black gate h
Lagos - Andréas Lang
"Black Gate H" , Lagos/Nigeria 2017
blue house
Lagos - Andréas Lang
"Blue House" , Lagos/Nigeria 2017
blue statue tomb
Lagos - Andréas Lang
"Blue Statue Tomb" , Lagos/Nigeria 2017
school parade
Lagos - Andréas Lang
"School Parade" , Lagos/Nigeria 2017
polo player
Lagos - Andréas Lang
"Polo Player" , Lagos/Nigeria 2017
construction work
Lagos - Andréas Lang
"Construction Work" , Lagos/Nigeria 2017
st gregory cricket
Lagos - Andréas Lang
"St. Gregory Cricket Score Board" , Lagos/Nigeria 2017
red eagle roof
Lagos - Andréas Lang
"Red Eagle Roof" , Lagos/Nigeria 2017
lagos island layers
Lagos - Andréas Lang
"Lagos Island" , Lagos/Nigeria 2017
red gate h
Lagos - Andréas Lang
"Red Gate H" , Lagos/Nigeria 2017
lagos polo club
Lagos - Andréas Lang
"Lagos Polo Club" , Lagos/Nigeria 2017
outskirt
Lagos - Andréas Lang
"Outskirt" , Lagos/Nigeria 2017
old man and boys
Lagos - Andréas Lang
"Old Man and Boys" , Lagos/Nigeria 2017
entry and statue
Lagos - Andréas Lang
"Entry and Yoruba Statue" , Lagos/Nigeria 2017
retornado tombs
Lagos - Andréas Lang
"Retornado Tombs" , Lagos/Nigeria 2017
chief taiwomonument
Lagos - Andréas Lang
"Chief Taiwo Olowo's Monument" , Lagos/Nigeria 2017
mommy's place
Lagos - Andréas Lang
"Mommy's Place" , Lagos/Nigeria 2017
badagry house
Lagos - Andréas Lang
"House in Badagry" , Lagos/Nigeria 2017
water house
Lagos - Andréas Lang
"Street Scene" , Lagos/Nigeria 2017
ilojo bar stone
Lagos
"Ilojo Bar Stone" , Lagos/Nigeria 2017

The place where the Ilojo House was standing is now a pile of rubble and appears like an open wound on Lagos Island. Amidst the rubble one can find pieces of the destroyed walls on which remained the blue and green painting from the former interior decoration. The stones look like a map with forest, lakes and rivers, one of them had the likely shape with the borders of Nigeria.

ilojo house ruins
Lagos - Andréas Lang
"Ilojo House Rubble" , Lagos/Nigeria 2017
gas station
Lagos - Andréas Lang
"Gas Station" , Lagos/Nigeria 2017
funeral shop
Lagos - Andréas Lang
"Funeral Shop" , Lagos/Nigeria 2017
street scene
Lagos - Andréas Lang
"Street Scene" , Lagos/Nigeria 2017
ancestor I
Lagos - Andréas Lang
"Ancestor I" , Lagos/Nigeria 2017
ancestor II
Lagos - Andréas Lang
"Ancestor II" , Lagos/Nigeria 2017
mister machado
Lagos - Andréas Lang
"Mister Machado" , Lagos/Nigeria 2017
slave museum
Lagos - Andréas Lang
"Baracoon Slave Museum" , Lagos/Nigeria 2017
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