KC Nwakalor is a Nigerian documentary photographer, producer, and educator whose work sheds light on social, economic, health, and environmental issues, particularly in Africa and its diaspora. In Screen Hysteria, he turns the lens inward, confronting the emotional and psychological toll of excessive screen use on himself and his family.
“In a world where our lives are increasingly mediated by digital screens, Screen Hysteria dissects the relationship between technology and the self. Through conceptual self-portraits, it explores the psychological and emotional toll of my excessive screen use.” — KC Nwakalor.
KC’s conceptual approach amplifies the tension between presence and detachment. His self-portraits, at times obscured by a white sheet, visually articulate the internal dissonance of digital dependency. The blurred images and his direct, exhausted gaze into the camera lens capture a paradox—an undeniable desire to disconnect, countered by the frustrating grip of screen addiction.
“The series is intentionally monochrome, stripping away distractions to focus on the raw, almost dystopian emotions of digital fatigue.” — KC Nwakalor.
The choice to strip the images of color is a deliberate one, heightening the starkness of his visual language and drawing attention to the raw, finite details. One particularly striking image—KC clutching his head in front of a mirror, his reflection multiplying—viscerally conveys a sense of overwhelm, as if technology has fractured his sense of self. Meanwhile, in another image, he tilts his head upward, eyes closed, silhouetted against the glow of a rectangular lightbox. The composition suggests a glimmer of escape, a moment of possible release from the digital abyss.
Through Screen Hysteria, KC invites us to reflect on our own entanglements with technology—on the fine line between connection and consumption, presence and absence.
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