Brethren: The Lens as Shelter, The Image as Protest Lagos, Nigeria

Lagos, Nigeria

There are photographers who take pictures. Then there are those who take the risk of seeing. Brethren — real name Gideon Krama Joshua — does the latter.

Whether he’s in the corners of a boxing ring, deep in Lagos nightlife, or dancing with light at a drum and bass rave, his frame always feels like protection. A boundary around emotion. A moment the world isn’t allowed to interrupt.

“Africa is the subject. The foundation. The beneficiary,” he says.
“It’s where I pull from. But more importantly, it’s where I give back.”

Chapter One — Afolabi in the Ring

In one of his most quietly emotional series, Brethren documents a close friend — Afolabi Shittu — preparing for and stepping into a qualifying boxing match. It’s not about victory. It’s about stillness. Grit. The ritual of focus. The tremble before impact. These images hit before the punch does.

Eyes focused. Sweat glistening. Background blurred like a dream being chased.

Chapter Two — The Sound of Sweat

This wasn’t just another underground event. It was Nigeria’s first ever drum and bass community rave — a sound the city wasn’t built to hold, but embraced anyway.

In his editorial series, you can feel the bass in the bodies. The strobes catch faces in euphoria, release, survival. Every shot feels like the final second before the lights come back on.

Bodies tangled in rhythm. Movement blurred but intentional.

Chapter Three — Redlight in Ibadan

Most people wouldn’t expect Ibadan to host a rave. Definitely not one that merges high fashion, experimental sound, and radical creative energy. But that’s what RLFR (Redlight Fashion Room) did — and Brethren was there to witness it.

These images aren’t about parties. They’re about claiming new ground. About subverting silence with style. And redefining what nightlife means for Nigerian youth.

Eyes closed mid movement. Red lights glowing like rebellion. Fashion and freedom wrapped together.

What Makes Brethren Poison Boy

At Poison Boy, we platform creatives who don’t just shoot. They reveal. They protect. They remember.

Brethren doesn’t use his camera to create spectacle. He uses it to create safe spaces. To archive emotion. To light the parts of Africa that mainstream stories often ignore — the soft boys, the fighters, the ravers, the ones trying to find home in sound and sweat.

He isn’t just building a portfolio. He’s building proof that the underground matters.

See more:
IG: @brethren.jkg
Credit: Brethren