Lorenzo Vitturi: Money Must Be Made

Money Must Be Made, London-based Italian photographer Lorenzo Vitturi's (born 1980) highly anticipated second photobook, takes us to the heart of the Balogun Market in Lagos, Nigeria. The many streets that host the Balogun market sprawl under the shadow of the Financial Trust House. For a long time this building was the tallest on the island, housing western corporations and banks in its heyday; today it is unoccupied, while the market has swallowed up the area. Returning to Lagos over many trips, Vitturi immersed himself in the market's life, photographing the products, shoppers and vendors. Most of the items on sale were imported from China, and Vitturi notes China's economic hold on Africa. Sending materials back to his London studio, he worked to layer painting, fabrics and objects into collages and sculptures that mimicked the arrangements he encountered in the market. Money Must Be Made is a love letter from Vitturi to Lagos, its spirit and its people.