In the eyes of the world, Lagos is often seen through a single lens: relentless bustle, yellow buses stuck in traffic and the infrastructure of a rapidly expanding megacity. While these descriptions are real, they reduce a multifaceted metropolis to its bare essentials. With Lagos Night Lights, French photographer Olympia de Maismont steps away from the front lines of breaking news to capture a quieter yet equally intense everyday phenomenon.

Shot during the cultural frenzy of “Dirty December”, the series reveals a side of the megacity largely absent from international representation. Beyond the haze of neon, the smoke and the elaborate outfits, the exhibition rejects outside cultural projections, as Olympia de Maismont offers an immersive look at how Lagosians shape and celebrate their world as night falls.

Lagos Night Lights does not seek to present a counter-narrative; rather, it bears witness to a city of profound complexity and beautiful contradictions — proof that the energy of Lagos is just as intense once the sun goes down.