Photographer ABIGAIL EKUE’S new Exhibit ‘RINGSIDE ‘ may make wrestling fans of us all yet

Photographer  Abigail Ekue is no stranger to these pages, as we have been following her work for 10 years now. As an artist, she specializes in gender, representation, and body neutrality. Her interest in the “body-ologies” and subcultures fuels her work with clients and personal projects. Turns out that she has also been a wrestling fan since the Golden Age, and when she attends an event, she can most likely be spotted wearing her Macho Man tee at ringside.

Her new body of work is RINGSIDE, a collection of over 250 B&W photos taken from April 2024 to November 2025 at WWE shows.  They present wrestling from the vantage point of a lifelong fan who happens to be a photographer. “I decided to present these particular photos in B&W for a sense of uniformity and timelessness. Cinema. Wrestling fans will know what I mean by that. B&W can also evoke nostalgia.” There are layers to each photo; the primary focus is on the wrestlers, on their interactions with the camera crew, and on the fans who add relatable emotions to the scenes. The photos are of epic, viral, funny, and understated moments. “On the thrilling occasions when the wrestlers look right into my camera, that adds a portrait interaction to the photographs.”

RINGSIDE chronicles a WWE in transition. It was the beginning of the TKO era. “Things move fast in wrestling; this exhibit is my artistic chronicle of WWE wrestling history.” Visitors to the exhibit will see photos of John Cena’s last match at Madison Square Garden, Becky Lynch and her nemesis refereeJessika Carr, the lead-up to Survivor Series War Games,Rey Fenix‘s WWE debut,Naomiand Jade Cargill setting up their Wrestlemania 41 match, Charlotte Flair andTiffany Strattonface-to-face in Chicago, CM Punk vs Seth Rollins in a steel cage along with other moments from WWE Monday Night RAW, WWE Smackdown, Saturday Night’s Main Eventand the December 26 Madison Square Garden house show from the WWE Holiday Live Tour. 

Ekue’s images capture frenetic action and off-air happenings, and she gives us a glimpse into the theatrics, fashion and athleticism of WWE.  She may make wrestling fans of us all yet

On Thursday, July 16, 2026, Abigail Ekue Photography presentsRINGSIDE, a pop-up exhibit at Isabel Sullivan Gallery in New York, NY. Over 250 photographs will be on view fromJuly 16 through July 19. The show opens to the public on Thursday at 11 AM.The opening reception will be held onJuly 16, 2026 from 5 to 7 PM.