FOTO/INDUSTRIA 2023
GAME. The industry of game in photography.
Bologna, October 18, 2023 – December 8, 2023
By Irene Bernardi
Why is it important to recognize oneself within the world of video games?
Is it a matter of moving away from an uncomfortable reality or is it just another way to define existing? The content creator, DE&I games consultant,[1] and 3D artist Danielle Udogaranya aka Ebonix, answers all of these questions, creating avatars to include the Black community inside the world of video games.
Due to her content that gives space to Black people, women, and other under-included groups in the gaming sphere, Udogaranya became a diversity activist, and her work has been featured on Apple, BBC, Vice, The Verge, The Guardian and many other platforms.
Born in 1991 in London (UK) with African and Caribbean heritage, she joined her father in playing video games at a young age. While doing so, her perspective changed as she noticed more and more stereotypes related to Black culture in these games, which appeared to be mainly aimed at a male audience. The stereotypical portrait of Black individuals in video games often depicts them as Black men with curly hair, oversized sweatshirts, and baggy pants, typically cast as protagonists involved in crime, shooters, or dangerous gangs. Ebonix initiated a thoughtful reflection on countering these stereotypes, particularly by narrating stories that explore the richness of Black identity and leveraging the communicative influence of video games as a political platform.
This media mirrors the essence of one’s inner self, unveiling significant aspects of one’s character through the process of gameplay. Some individuals immerse themselves in gaming to escape reality, while others are fueled by the excitement of competition. Nevertheless, the most thrilling aspect of games is the ability to achieve extraordinary feats beyond the bounds of reality. This becomes even more impactful when the game allows you to create a character with your skin tone and hairstyle, offering a personalized and inclusive experience.
These two different topics are crucial to Udogaranya’s work in 2015, after the release of the popular simulation game The Sims 4. This type of game creates the possibility of entering a parallel world where your character lives a real-life experience, with the objective of staying healthy, working, and having social relationships.
The artist noticed how once again, Black people do not have the option of creating their own avatar within the game, except by choosing curly hair and a single skin colour. In 2017, she started to practice 3D modelling to create different types of avatars with multiple choices of skin and hair, taking inspiration from graphic design to the shining world of art, including Jean Michael-Basquiat and Cameroonian graphic artist Maxime Manga. Udogaranya focuses particularly on the creation of the hair as it is a fundamental part of Black culture, despite being completely absent in the creation of the simmers[2].
“I want developers to think of us as works of art when they want to insert us in games.”[3]
Her work is not a simple series of portraits of Black people but a political act: activism and inclusivity extend beyond the confines of the physical world and find resonance in digital realms, where enduring battles unfold.
In 2020 the developers of The Sims accepted Udogaranya’s criticism and added more than 100 shades and hairstyles to the game, an important step in this industry. Often, there is an ignorance on the part of white developers regarding the profound significance of hair in Black culture. It is not a mere stylistic choice, but a heated political topic rooted in the legacy of chattel slavery.[4] The ongoing transformative wave goes beyond the confines of the gaming industry, encompassing a broader societal shift. Ebonix champions for heightened representation, advocating for greater inclusion of Black individuals in influential roles such as writers, artists, directors, producers, and beyond. This aims to secure and amplify the voices of the Black community in game life and beyond because the universe illustrated by Udogaranya materializes not only on computer screens, tablets, and cell phones but in tangible reality.[5]
During COVID-19, protestors found new ways to express themselves through video games; Ebonix organized a Black Lives Matter rally in The Sims where more than 200 players participated in this event with t-shirts including the slogan of BLM. She says, “The community response was astounding. It felt like a real turning point.”[6]
The significance of this action extends beyond the simple act of “playing a game.” The rally organized within The Sims serves as a virtual representation of reality, emphasizing that the value of Black lives matters both in the real world and the virtual realm.
Danielle Udogaranya’s exhibition Seeing me, Seeing you, Seeing us is part of FOTO/INDUSTRIA 2023, VI Biennial of Photography on Industry and Work, promoted by Fondazione MAST, Bologna. This year, all 12 exhibitions — 11 personal and one collective, set up in 10 locations in the city centre and Fondazione MAST— have the main focus on the industrial of game in photography, where “Udogaranya’s exhibition explores game as a societal tool, amplifying diversity within a world that not only redefines the core concept of identity but also elevates it as the central element of play, extending into real-life experiences.”[7]
To view more of Danielle Udogaranya’s work visit her website or Instagram.
[1] DE&I — Diversity and inclusion — is an expression that refers to programs, policies and processes that support different groups of people within the same organisation. Promotes equal representation for people of different ethnicities, religions, genders, and sexual orientations.
[2] Typical Sims avatar, characterised by an emerald prism on the head.
[3] Danielle Udogaranya, Seeing me, Seeing you, Seeing us, www.fotoindustria.it
[4] Allisa James, Black hair and black bodies in gaming, 28.12.2022, www.techradar.com
[5] Francesco Zanot, GAME. FOTO/INDUSTRIA – VI Biennal of Photography on industry and work, Fondazione MAST, 2023, Bologna, pp. 186-187
[6] Schofield Daisy, Black Lives Matter meets Animal Crossing: how protesters take their activism into video games, 7.08.2020, http://www.theguardian.com.
[7] Francesco Zanot, GAME. FOTO/INDUSTRIA – VI Biennal of Photography on industry and work , Fondazione MAST, 2023, Bologna, pp. 20-21