The Nation Newspaper

Category: Life – The Midweek Magazine

  • Solutions to marital mistakes

    The per cent of marriages that are breaking up is constantly on the rise, experts have said. Moved by this fact, a couple Pastor Ola Adejubee and his wife, Bose, have written a book, 52 marital mistakes and their solution. If you talk about marriage in some places even in the church, you are perceived as old fashioned and outdated. But we bless God because our Maker is the Ancient of Days and His word forever settled. While marriage is God’s ideas from creation, the need to be equipped with the various mistakes and their solutions in Nigeria is imperative for today’s world.

    The book provides answers to questions about how to handle teething problems in marriages. As Plutarch says that to make no mistakes is not the power of man but from their errors or mistakes, the wise and good learn wisdom for the future.

    The agenda of the book is to learn from many mistakes of others, because no one is an island, it is imperative to learn from others people’s experiences. A husband and wife that do not learn from other people’s blunders are doomed to multiply their own mistakes and prolong their journey to marital fulfillment.

    The book was printed by Point Blank Services, Palm grove Estate Shomolu, Lagos in July 2015.

    It is a small contribution to marital harmony, the book tries to inspire the need for regular improvements using our trademark mistakes and Solutions approach.

    The book is divided into two segments. It starts with women marital and their solutions in Pages 11-122 while men marital mistakes and their solution is in pages 123-230. The praise for this guide book is in its simplicity, good biblical reference, lazed with some measure of graphics to make them memorable and easily understood language.

    The book is easy to read. It has good layout and style. The first chapter highlighted the importance of inspiring trust in a man as a help meet for him. It stated that a wife inspiration should be more than our criticism of him. It posited further that for a progressive and peaceful marital life, the need to think about all the areas you have been criticizing him (making his weakness to bring him shame and correct them.

    Areas such as refusal to submit to your husbands, not knowing your identity to positively use your influence, regularly failing the test of humility, choosing friends with total disregard for biblical standard, negative and undue comparison of your husband with others,  being negligence of the need of your husband in the bedroom are among the 26 marital mistakes. Each sessions has practical examples and sometimes stories and quote from renown couples which makes the piece a valuable asset for its readers are unscripted to keep the reader inform while lighting the mood of the readers with graphics.

    Also for men, some of the marital mistakes are ignorance of the natural difference between the man and the woman,failing to accommodate the woman, not to know that submission is mutual, failing to understand the potency of maturity in marriage, ignorance of damages of ineffective

    communication ignorance of the power of trust and refusal to lead are among the 26 marital mistakes and their solutions written in the book.The book highlighted some of these mistakes with tips in each of the session on how to overcome those mistakes. The book is out to inspire hope and mend broken walls in marriages. Every Christian either as single or married should have a copy as it is a guide for a life long of marriage life without stress.

    It is a model of solutions packaged to serve as a relive to many who are facing one challenge or other in their marriage. Women too, may become complacent in appearance- and refuse to embrace new things. Crises must show up at some point in the marriage, how do you handle it as a man? On why the choice of the word 52 marital mistakes and solution, the writers noted that it has become a brand title for the couple as they have a few books written by the writers with the word 52 amonh which are: 52 ministry mistakes and their solutions, 52 money mistakes and their solutions.

     

  • 2015 Bamako Biennale Again, Nigeria rules the continent

    2015 Bamako Biennale Again, Nigeria rules the continent

    Nigeria’s Uche Okpa-Iroha surprised many, last Wednesday, when he won, for the second time, the Seydou Keita Prize at the Bamako Biennale in Mali. As he shed tears of joy, Iroha mumbled: “I dedicate the prize to Jesus Christ.” Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME
    was there.

    Nigerian photographer Uche Okpa-Iroha has, at the African Biennale of Photography Bamako Encounters in Bamako, Mali  repeated his 2009 feat – he is the winner of the Seydou Keita prize at this year’s 10th anniversary edition. Iroha got 5000 Euro, thus becoming the first to win the grand prize twice since the festival started over two decades ago. His winning entry, The Plantation Boys, which is in tandem with the festival theme, Telling Time, is a 40-piece photograph series on imbalance in the representations of African identity.

    According to the jury, Iroha inserts himself in a familiar scene of The Godfather to subvert the prevalent Hollywood view which has been excluding the other.

    “He lays bare the film’s system of representation, interjects a powerful redress of history and sets an alternative story in motion. The Plantation Boy clearly refers to the conditions of African Americans and claims a freedom that is opposed to the slavery time. We recognize the importance and urgency of this work as it relates to popular culture and questions the notion of power by subverting the invisibility of minorities in the film industry,” the jury said.

    Stunned by the jury’s announcement, Iroha, wearing a white top on a pair of jeans trouser, managed to respond by saying that he dedicated the prize to Jesus Christ as well as his friends at the festival.

    “Six years ago, I was here for the first time. Today, I have made it as winner of the overall best prize. Bamako is my second home,” he said, commending the organizers of the Bamako Biennale for a job well done.

    The biennale which is curated by Bisi Silva, assisted by Antawan Byrd and Yves Chatap will run till December 31. It is featuring several monographic and thematic exhibitions, educational targeted workshops and visits.

    Other winners were Lebohang Kganye and Simon Gush from South Africa (Jury prize), Abubacar Traore of Mali (OIF prize), Em’ Kal Eyongakpa of Cameroun (Tierney Bamako prize), Georges Senga of Congo Brazzaville (Royal Air Maroc prize) and Lucia Nhamo of Zimbabwe (Lanchonete.org award) Members of the jury are Solange Farkas, Ngone Fall, Kenneth Montague, Simon Njami and Alioune Ba.

    Iroha’s The Plantation Boys beat 38 other African artists’ entries – photographs and videos – to emerge overall best. The work consists of two series of images that collectively examine the power of structures of race and the hegemony of Western culture, signaling central concerns in his artistic practice. The title situates the work within the Black and African quest for freedom and self determination that arose in the slave plantation and and continues to impact the lives of black subjects globally.

    In The Plantation Boys, Iroha ‘meticulously places himself in the frame of the images through strategies of reconstruction and reenactment. He intervenes in Francis Ford Coppal’s 1972 Hollywood movie The Godfather by isolating and appropriating 40 original film stills from the movie. Through a process of digital deconstruction, Iroha disrupts an iconic Hollywood image with the presence of an African man amongst the familiar gangs of Italian-American culture.

    “He uses this to draw attention to the politics of representation in Western culture that is marked by a striking absence of Black actors and actresess -a challenge of the stereotype and subservient representation of African identity by taking centre stage.”

     

    Bamako Encounters

    makes big return

     

    After a four-year break, following political crisis in Mali, the Bamako Encounters, African Biennale of Photography made a successful return on Saturday, October 31, with an increased artists’ entries rising from 250 in 2011 to 800 this year. The festival, which opened at the Musee National du Mali, in Bamako is featuring 39 artists drawn from across the continent and Diaspora in exhibitions, screenings, talks and educational programmes for the youths. This tenth edition has as theme Telling Time, curated by Bisi Silva and assisted by Antawan Byrd and Yves Chatap.

    Delegate-General for the Bamako Encounters Mr Samuel Sidibe said the biennale has provided a unique platform for photographers in the continent and Diaspora. He stated that for over 20 years, the Encounters have displayed works of artists to public not confined to Bamako but that also includes visitors from all over the world.

    Sidibe described the biennale as a key agent in the emergence of African photographers adding that for many of them it is a powerful engine for creativity, hope and for dreams to come true- the fact of being recognized and being able one day to make a living from their works.

    “The Biennale is a unique window for my country, Mali. We are proud to be hosts to artists and professionals from all over the world during the opening week-October 31 to November 4,” Sidibe said.

    Director-Genral Institut Francais Anne Tallineau described Africa as truly a continent of art and culture, and the Encounters, with its international and Pan African dimensions, is eloquent evidence that creativity in today’s Africa is thriving, inventive and compelling from north to south and from east to west.

    Tallineau said few years ago, African artists were disturbingly absent from major international events but that now, in galleries and auction rooms, real progress is visible. “In addition this year’s Venice Biennale has provided a handsome panorama of the continent’s contemporary creativity and we are delighted to see this spotlighting of African photographers first revealed to the world by the Bamako Encounters,” Tallineau added.

    She reassured the commitment and support of France to the cultural cooperation between her country and Mali in sustaining the hosting of the Bamako Encounters. “This tradition of cultural cooperation between our two countries is a strong, long standing one. And with the organization of this tenth edition, after a break in 2011, we restate today our commitment alongside Mali, to the holding of the Rencountres de Bamako,” she added.

    Curator of the biennale Bisi Silva said the theme of the festival was inspired by both Mali’s rich cultural traditions of storytelling and the nation’s recent political upheavals, noting that it would also question the methods by which artists narrate real and imagined experiences through different economies of time. According to her, photographic images have been routinely interpreted as refractions of time and space relations, serving to advance visual arguments about the particularities of a given reality. “Within this context, Telling Time presents a nuanced array of lens-based projects that differently opened and reframe conventional interpretations of time through discrete structures of the past, present, and future. The artists assembled use photography, film, video and animation to construct perspectives on time that are fragmented, disjunctive, or recursive in nature, offering alternative methods of engaging histories, experiences and desires,” Silva said.

    Events of the week will hold in other venues such as Memorial Modibo Keita, Musee de Bamako, Maison Africaine de la Photographie and Institut Francaise. The biennale will run till December 31.

  • LagosPhoto: From today’s reality to Designing Futures

    LagosPhoto: From today’s reality to Designing Futures

    No fewer than 35 photographers from 18 countries are showing their works at the sixth LagosPhoto Festival with the theme: Designing Futures.

    The exhibition presents photography as it is embodied in the exploration of historical and contemporary issues and today’s reality; the photographers display works done skillfully, creating awareness on the cultural and socio-political landscape that influence daily life, and in turn communicate through the images on view. This year’s theme explores contemporary dialogues surrounding design in Africa.

    According to the organisers (African Artists’ Foundation), the arts festival focuses on the literal definition of design and philosophical aims at providing a platform for the development and education of contemporary photography in Africa by establishing mentorships and cross-cultural collaborations with local and international artists.

    The colourful, monochrome and animated works examine the complex social and political phenomenon that defines Africa in the twenty-first century. The images are engaging, they tell various stories of Africa, as well as forces the viewer to  have personal exploration through a diverse spectrum of photographic practice, examining contemporary photographers working in Africa who toe the line between photography and truth, by incorporating conceptual practices and performative strategies that expand traditional photographic approaches and techniques that buttress how images plays a vital role in our day-to-day activities, and how reality is constructed and negotiated.

    Nigeria’s Ima Mfon whose black and white portraits focus on “Nigerian Identity”, his series which all subjects are presented in a uniform manner: photographed on a white seamless background, looking directly into the lens, and enhanced so that their skin tones are virtually identical. “In these images, the skin tones are rich, deep and beautiful to celebrate our beautiful skin, for which we are often oppressed and marginalised. I use a plain background to eliminate any cultural or ethnic context, whether of urban disrepair or African wilderness. I want to contest the superficial travel or tourist photography approach to peoples who may be unfamiliar to the photographs’ viewers,” he said.

    French multimedia artist, François Beaurain’s stand in the exhibition hall received the highest attention with his 53 animation pictures of Monrovia series which showcase different aspects of everyday life in Monrovia. The daily life scenes depicted are rendered joyous and humorous by the animation technique, instantly capturing the viewer’s attention through Francois’s composition and use of color, and show a different side of a country that is regularly associated in the media with its recent civil war and its consequences or Ebola.

    To Beaurain: “Liberia is a beautiful and fascinating country, but it is also a tough place where people struggle to make a living. As an expat, you need faith or a severe dose of optimism to look at this country in a positive way, and when I arrived in Monrovia I did not have both. I rapidly realised that my pictures, artificially lively and colorful, but always inspired from reality, were a way for me to look at the bright side of Liberia, to meet and understand the people living there. I believe this project can contribute to give a different image of Liberia because it worked for me at the first place.”

    Cristina De Middel, the Curator, said the artists in this edition were selected based not only on the graphic quality but mainly on the fresh attitude and the determination to open the debate from inside, surpassing any post-colonial approach. “I have the feeling that Africa is not describing itself according to the rest of the world, but rather doing an introspective exercise that could obvious only be started from inside, and even better, is sharing the results. Africa got the mike and is ready to talk,” she said.

    She continued: “When I took the challenge to curate this edition of the festival I started by re-considering the meaning of the word design. I was trying to go beyond the first aesthetical connotation that comes with the current excitement about African visuals, the ethnic wax print and the coolness of the unknown that even Conrad painted a few decades ago.”

    To the Director of the festival, Mr Azu Nwagbogu the purpose of LagosPhoto is to learn, to observe, to explore, and to build a community around contemporary photography as it relates to Africa.

    LagosPhoto Festival is an international photo festival where contemporary photographers come together in Lagos to feature their outstanding works. Since its inception in 2010, the organisers have successfully displayed beautiful images. The festival is getting more international awareness; this year’s ground opening was well attended by people from all works of life. The one month programme ends on Friday, November 27, 2015.

    Other participating photographers are Owise Abuzaid, Andile Buka, Joana Choumali, Omar Victor Diop and Antoine Tempé, Daniel Donnelly, Kadara Enyeasi, Delphine Gatinois, Robin Hammond, Navin Kala, Andrea Gisele Keyezua, Ben Krewinkel, Francois Knoetze, Namsa Leuba, Robin Maddock and Benedicte Kurzen, Renzo Martens, Fabrice Monteiro, Nobukho Nqaba, Zohra Opoku, James Ostrer, Gloria Oyarzabal, Vicente Paredes,  Max Pinckers and Michiel Burger, Émilie Réigner, Chris Saunders, Mehdi Sefrioui, Patrick Selemani, Alice Smeets, Romaric Tisserand, William Ukoh and Patrick Willocq.

    The satellite exhibition venues in arts and cultural spaces throughout the city extend to Omenka Gallery, Africans Artists’ Foundation, Stranger Lagos, Goethe-Institut, White Space, Yaba Tech, and Quintessence. Outdoor exhibitions in public spaces in Lagos include Muri Okunola Park, Falomo Roundabout, Beko Ransome Kuti Park, Awojobi Park, Freedom Park, MKO Abiola Park and Dolphin Park.

  • ‘My generation needs voices that speak life’

    ‘My generation needs voices that speak life’

    Israel Afangideh is an Akwa-Ibom State born sophomore student at Faulkner University, Alabama, Montgomery, United States (US) with a dual major in Sports Management and Business Administration. The young lad, who turned 17 recently, is a man of many parts. His interest spans music, poetry, law and martial art. He has a second degree black belt in Taekwondo and dreams of opening a Martial Arts Academy in future. But his current musical single ,No borders, was inspired by the shooting in Charleston, South Carolina, US, in June, by Dylan Roof, a white American boy, who went into an African-American church and opened fire, killing several worshippers. He speaks with Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME on  his new musical project, growing up in America, his dreams, what endears him to his roots-Nigeria, among other issues. 

    At 17, how prepared are you for the task of moving into adulthood?

    I don’t really think being an adult has much to do with age, being an adult has much more to do with life’s experiences and mindset. I feel that so many people of my age limit themselves thinking they have to wait until they get older to become the people they’re meant to be, but that’s simply not true; there are advantages to youth that should not be wasted.

    Tell me about yourself as a Nigerian born American youth?

    I feel that God blessed me to be able to be born in a country as amazing as Nigeria. Learning Nigerian values and being influenced by Nigerian culture from a young age has really helped to shape who I am and who I will become. I was even more blessed to be born into the Afangideh family; a family that constantly pushes each other to be the best that we can be. My father, Peter Afangideh, is a lawyer and the Director of the Christian Science College. My mother, Dr. Uduak Afangideh, is the wisest woman I know and her guidance and support have been invaluable in helping me find the right path and follow it. My elder sister, Salem Afangideh, is an American lawyer, and her numerous accomplishments in many diverse fields at such a young age, remind me never to limit myself. My little brother, Elias Afangideh with his quick sense of humour and zest for life has taught me to have fun and never to take life too seriously.

    Tell us about your academic sojourn

    I completed my Nursery and Primary School education in Nigeria before going to America and completing my Secondary education there. I am currently in my second year at Faulkner University with a dual major in Sports Management and Business Administration. School is important, not because of the facts you learn there or because of the endless theories and lectures students are forced to sit through; school is important because of the discipline it teaches and because it teaches you how to find, absorb and retain information.

    Aside your studies, what are your other interests?

    I have many interests ranging from music and law to poetry and Martial Arts. I have a second degree black belt in Taekwondo, and dream of opening a Martial Arts academy. If I had to put myself in a box, however, I would say I’m an entrepreneur. I like envisioning things and then watching them become reality. I have always been a dreamer. I’m the kind of person, who is never satisfied with the status quo. I like to swim against the tide, to buck the trend. I guess I’m a little bit rebellious and stubborn and I don’t think those are negative attributes for young people to have at all, as long as we rebel for the right things. My relationship with God guides everything else I do in life, whether in Martial Arts or in music, I don’t see my Christian life as separate from my everyday life. They are intricately connected.

     What musical project are you working on and when did you start it?

    I had the idea back in January to make a song that addressed the tendency we have as human beings to discriminate against each other based on the boxes we put ourselves in, whether it is race or nationality or gender or social class. Whatever box it was, whatever walls we built to separate ourselves from each other, I wanted to tear them down. By April I had the specifics of the song and I contacted my friend and fellow rapper Benjohn Ofem Otu to see if he would be interested in having a part in the song. He was. While we were trying to figure out what exactly we wanted the song to say, I heard about the church shooting in which a white American boy went into an African-American church and opened fire, killing several people. In that instant I knew that there would be no better place to talk about racial violence than in Africa with a fellowAfrican. That was how the song, No Borders, was born. I also decided to create a project called Real Music, as a banner under which I and other musicians could create songs that have a positive message.

    What inspired the Real Music project?

    Real Music is an idea I have entertained for a long time. It is the result of studying popular culture for the past three years. I noticed that almost all songs that become popular promote objectifying women, worshipping money, laziness, drug addiction and other vices. This didn’t make sense to me, why would musicians create songs that would misguide and destroy the people who were looking up to them. That was how Real Music was born. We want to make sure that whenever someone plays a song produced by Real Music, featuring one of our artistes, they will get a song with a message, a song filled with hope. The song, No Borders, can be found on YouTube and it can be downloaded for free on Soundcloud. It can also be found on our Facebook page.

     Who are your target audience?

    My generation needs voices that speak life. We need voices that will create instead of destroy. We need role models that not only know the right path, but won’t point us down the wrong one simply because they want to make more money from their music. However, my target audience isn’t limited to those who fit into my age bracket. I want the world to hear my music because I know that real music changes lives. 

    What are your dreams?

    I dream of a world undivided by the prejudices inherent in the human nature. I dream of a world where every human being is free from pain and is living up to their potential. I have personal dreams and aspirations as well, but I know that if I can create the world I see in my dreams everything else will fall into place.

    Growing up in Alabama as a Nigerian youth, what challenges did you face?

    There are challenges. It can be difficult to find my identity, and at times it can feel like I don’t belong anywhere. I’m in America, but not American. I’m African, but not African-American. America has its advantages, but there is no place like home.

    What endears you to Nigeria, your home country?

    The people; Nigerians are what make Nigeria as amazing as it is. We are tenacious and we can make the most out of the worst situations. Nigeria is a country with promise and we shouldn’t get discouraged because we might not be where other nations are right now. No nation was perfect at 54 and even though I’m a little biased, I think Nigeria has the potential to be one of the greatest nations on the planet.

  • PHCN opens at Red Door Nov 20

    PHCN opens at Red Door Nov 20

    A solo art exhibition reflecting the state of the nation, Please Help Clean (Phcn) by Ija Lobomo, will open at the Red Door Gallery, Victoria Island, Lagos on November 20.  It will feature paintings such as Painfully Employed I; Painfully Employed Ii, What Legacies! 1960s BC And 2010 Ad are pictures reflecting the state of the nation.

    Ija Lobomo’s paintings remain stark reminders to the gifted community of aficionados and collectors. These are the real culprits that the paintings address. It is from this category of citizenry that the oppressor class emerges. The artist addresses the same oppressor class for the looting of the treasury symbolised by the stark images such as To Hand Unto Our Children …A Banner With All Pains And Llpc, Loot Loot Petroleum Corporation and images reflecting the invasion of the, otherwise, rich country where culture and the beautiful life persisted. The paintings include Girl By The Parrot Cage, Eyo Dancers, The Flute Player, The Beaded Dancer among others. Some thought-provoking paintings for display are O SAMBISA and THE SILHOUTTE WITH AK 47.

    In spite of these vexatious images, the exhibition still offers a glimmer of hope in Bunch Of Flowers, The Festering Cockeral and the reality of a change represented by The Mythical Eleshin, The Horse Man, symbol of Apocalypse and change.

  • Contemporaries holds at Wheatbaker

    Contemporaries holds at Wheatbaker

    As the global art world gathers in London next week for Frieze, tagged one of the “blingiest” art fairs in the world, The Contemporaries, an exhibition showcasing works by eleven cutting edge Nigerian contemporary artists, attracted much interest when it opened at the Wheatbaker boutique hotel, penultimate Monday. It will run till November 13 and is supported by Veuve Cliquot.

    The exhibition of 21 paintings, sculptures, drawings, and mixed media works is a timely reflection of current trends in Nigeria and makes stirring and sometimes, tongue-in-cheek, comments about a nation expectant of change. The Wheatbaker’s fall exhibition The Contemporaries, showcases leading and emerging artists including Nnenna Okore, Duke Asidere, Uchay Joel Chima, Gerald Chukwuma, Raoul Olawale da Silva, Anthea Epelle,  Taiye Idahor , Chika Idu , Adeyinka Akingbade, Tony Nsofor,  and Onyeama Offoedu-Okeke.

    A kaleidoscope of art that offers fresh perspectives on environment and development issues, feminism, unity, identity, history & tradition, and freedom of expression, draw on the artists’ unique heritage and perspectives. The exhibition is a robust exchange of ideas challenging its audience not to merely “think outside the box”, but to literally “stand on the box” and use it as platform to behold new vistas.

    Sculptor and environmental activist, Uchay Joel Chima, whose skillfully crafted charcoal and paper relief addresses rampant environmental degradation and security challenges is juxtaposed  against the masterly paintings of children swimming under-water created by Chika Idu, who tried to escape the nightmare of traffic gridlocked streets by relying on water transportation, only to be confronted with the daily struggles of coastal communities affected by dredging, pollution, flooding and all forms of urban pressure.

    Artist, historian and architect Onyema Offoedu-Okeke, presents Obstacles to Paradise on the theme of global migration showing the desperate fragmented surge of humanity across geometric paths of color and symbol, while master sculptor Gerald Chukwuma’s ironic multi-media work, CHOP, created out of an intricate pattern of plastic spoons on wooden slats, makes a strong comment on the social cancer of corruption and the growing gap between Africa’s well heeled elite and the increasingly disadvantaged poor; in the artist’s own words, there is “plenty food, plenty spoons and empty plates”.

    “Art reflects society within a constantly evolving socio-political reality,” explains exhibition curator Sandra Mbanefo Obiago, who started documenting the impact of contemporary Nigerian art in 2011 in a five part documentary series, Red Hot Nigerian Creativity, she produced and co-directed. “Its exciting to see how the contemporary art scene is making a positive impact on our international identity and confidence as Nigerians, as Lagos fast becomes one of the most-talked-about emerging global art cities.”

    The Contemporaries is offering visitors works which exhibit inspirational bold abstract human forms created by painters Raoul Olawale da Silva and Tony Nsofor, alongside the unusual biomorphic sculptures and installations created by internationally celebrated Nnenna Okore, in which twine, burlap,  and discarded newspapers touch on recycling, transformation and regeneration inspired by natural and man-made conditions within semi rural dwellings.

     

  • 2015 Bamako Biennale Again, Nigeria rules the continent

    2015 Bamako Biennale Again, Nigeria rules the continent

    Nigeria’s Uche Okpa-Iroha surprised many, last Wednesday, when he won, for the second time, the Seydou Keita Prize at the ongoing Bamako Biennale in Mali. As he shed tears of joy, Iroha mumbled: “I dedicate the prize to Jesus Christ.” Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME
    was there.

    Nigerian photographer Uche Okpa-Iroha has, at the ongoing African Biennale of Photography Bamako Encounters in Bamako, Mali  repeated his 2009 feat – he is the winner of the Seydou Keita prize at this year’s 10th anniversary edition. Iroha got a cash of 5000 Euro, thus becoming the first to win the grand prize twice since the festival started over two decades ago. His winning entry The Plantation Boys, which is in tandem with the festival theme, Telling Time, is a 40-piece photograph series on imbalance in the representations of African identity.

    According to the jury, Iroha inserts himself in a familiar scene of The Godfather to subvert the prevalent Hollywood view which has been excluding the other.

    “He lays bare the film’s system of representation, interjects a powerful redress of history and sets an alternative story in motion. The Plantation Boy clearly refers to the conditions of African Americans and claims a freedom that is opposed to the slavery time. We recognize the importance and urgency of this work as it relates to popular culture and questions the notion of power by subverting the invisibility of minorities in the film industry,” the jury said.

    Stunned by the jury’s announcement, Iroha, wearing a white top on a pair of jeans trouser, managed to respond by saying that he dedicated the prize to Jesus Christ as well as his friends at the festival.

    “Six years ago, I was here for the first time. Today, I have made it as winner of the overall best prize. Bamako is my second home,” he said, commending the organizers of the Bamako Biennale for a job well done.

    The biennale which is curated by Bisi Silva, assisted by Antawan Byrd and Yves Chatap will run till December 31. It is featuring several monographic and thematic exhibitions, educational targeted workshops and visits.

    Other winners were Lebohang Kganye and Simon Gush from South Africa (Jury prize), Abubacar Traore of Mali (OIF prize), Em’ Kal Eyongakpa of Cameroun (Tierney Bamako prize), Georges Senga of Congo Brazzaville (Royal Air Maroc prize) and Lucia Nhamo of Zimbabwe (Lanchonete.org award) Members of the jury are Solange Farkas, Ngone Fall, Kenneth Montague, Simon Njami and Alioune Ba.

    Iroha’s The Plantation Boys beat 38 other African artists’ entries – photographs and videos – to emerge overall best. The work consists of two series of images that collectively examine the power of structures of race and the hegemony of Western culture, signaling central concerns in his artistic practice. The title situates the work within the Black and African quest for freedom and self determination that arose in the slave plantation and and continues to impact the lives of black subjects globally.

    In The Plantation Boys, Iroha ‘meticulously places himself in the frame of the images through strategies of reconstruction and reenactment. He intervenes in Francis Ford Coppal’s 1972 Hollywood movie The Godfather by isolating and appropriating 40 original film stills from the movie. Through a process of digital deconstruction, Iroha disrupts an iconic Hollywood image with the presence of an African man amongst the familiar gangs of Italian-American culture.

    “He uses this to draw attention to the politics of representation in Western culture that is marked by a striking absence of Black actors and actresess -a challenge of the stereotype and subservient representation of African identity by taking centre stage.”

     

    Bamako Encounters

    makes big return

     

    After a four-year break, following political crisis in Mali, the Bamako Encounters, African Biennale of Photography made a successful return on Saturday, October 31, with an increased artists’ entries rising from 250 in 2011 to 800 this year. The festival, which opened at the Musee National du Mali, in Bamako is featuring 39 artists drawn from across the continent and Diaspora in exhibitions, screenings, talks and educational programmes for the youths. This tenth edition has as theme Telling Time, curated by Bisi Silva and assisted by Antawan Byrd and Yves Chatap.

    Delegate-General for the Bamako Encounters Mr Samuel Sidibe said the biennale has provided a unique platform for photographers in the continent and Diaspora. He stated that for over 20 years, the Encounters have displayed works of artists to public not confined to Bamako but that also includes visitors from all over the world.

    Sidibe described the biennale as a key agent in the emergence of African photographers adding that for many of them it is a powerful engine for creativity, hope and for dreams to come true- the fact of being recognized and being able one day to make a living from their works.

    “The Biennale is a unique window for my country, Mali. We are proud to be hosts to artists and professionals from all over the world during the opening week-October 31 to November 4,” Sidibe said.

    Director-Genral Institut Francais Anne Tallineau described Africa as truly a continent of art and culture, and the Encounters, with its international and Pan African dimensions, is eloquent evidence that creativity in today’s Africa is thriving, inventive and compelling from north to south and from east to west.

    Tallineau said few years ago, African artists were disturbingly absent from major international events but that now, in galleries and auction rooms, real progress is visible. “In addition this year’s Venice Biennale has provided a handsome panorama of the continent’s contemporary creativity and we are delighted to see this spotlighting of African photographers first revealed to the world by the Bamako Encounters,” Tallineau added.

    She reassured the commitment and support of France to the cultural cooperation between her country and Mali in sustaining the hosting of the Bamako Encounters. “This tradition of cultural cooperation between our two countries is a strong, long standing one. And with the organization of this tenth edition, after a break in 2011, we restate today our commitment alongside Mali, to the holding of the Rencountres de Bamako,” she added.

    Curator of the biennale Bisi Silva said the theme of the festival was inspired by both Mali’s rich cultural traditions of storytelling and the nation’s recent political upheavals, noting that it would also question the methods by which artists narrate real and imagined experiences through different economies of time. According to her, photographic images have been routinely interpreted as refractions of time and space relations, serving to advance visual arguments about the particularities of a given reality. “Within this context, Telling Time presents a nuanced array of lens-based projects that differently opened and reframe conventional interpretations of time through discrete structures of the past, present, and future. The artists assembled use photography, film, video and animation to construct perspectives on time that are fragmented, disjunctive, or recursive in nature, offering alternative methods of engaging histories, experiences and desires,” Silva said.

    Events of the week will hold in other venues such as Memorial Modibo Keita, Musee de Bamako, Maison Africaine de la Photographie and Institut Francaise. The biennale will run till December 31.

  • ‘My dad was a meticulous photographer’

    ‘My dad was a meticulous photographer’

    The ongoing African Biennale of Photography Bamako Encounters organised by Mali Ministry of Culture, Institut Francais, Mali in collaboration with Ambassador of France in Mali has further provided a vintage window for the appreciation of the late renowned Nigerian photographer, Pa Okhai Ojeikere.

    More importantly, the roundtable moderated by Erika Nimis provided the international audience, especially artists community the rare privilege of understanding the life, times and works of the great photographer.

    Pa Ojeikere was internationally revered for his stunning photographs of Nigerian neo-traditional hairstyles and headdresses known as Gele.

    His son, Amaize, who was a guest speaker at the Institut Francais du Mali in Bamako on Valoriser les Photographies anciennes, Du Nouveau? on Tuesday, recalled that his late father was a very meticulous photographer who paid serious attention to the preservation and documentation of his old films.

    “My father was very meticulous in handling his films. He filed his negatives inside envelopes with titles on them as a means of documenting and preserving them…But for that good preservation, we wouldn’t have been able to discuss his works today. Each time he relocated from one city to another, he ensured that his negatives are well kept and preserved. That is why we have what we are talking about today,” he said.

    On whether his late father influenced him to take to photography, Amaize said: “I grew up encountering my father’s works as a photographer. In fact, we all in the family were part of his career as he always showed us the different parts of the work. We also knew some of his models in the hair dresses and hairstyles projects he did. For me, my father didn’t influence my career as a photographer but to some extent, yes he did, by exposing me to some aspects of the profession.  In fact, I have been part of his career early in life. For the 13 years I travelled round the world with him, I got prepared for this task of carrying on his legacy.”

    Amaize stated that after his father’s works became famous across the globe, it started to attract scholarly discourses from various parts of the world.  He said his late father always saw himself first as a photographer and not to be classified, noting that he understood every technical detail needed for a good photograph.

    “He understood how light affects the quality of his images, among other considerations,” he added.

    Other discussants at the roundtable included Ananias Leki Dago and Phillipe Guionie.

  • ‘Winning awards not the ultimate’

    ‘Winning awards not the ultimate’

    They all came for one event. But, the younger artists had different missions. While many were fulfilled participating in Life In My City Art Festival (LIMCAF), in Enugu, others eyed the coveted prize. Of the hundreds of artists that entered for the competition, Benin City-based studio artist, Aisien Harrison, won the Best Overall prize of N500,000 amid jubilation, reports Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME.

    In spite of the traffic jam on the Nike Lake Resort Road, guests, especially most of the shortlisted 98 artists for the awards and grand finale exhibition, arrived the function in high spirits. The Convention Hall, Nike Lake Resort Hotel, Enugu, venue of this year’s Life In My City  Art Festival was filled to capacity. The anxiety got to its peak when 30 of the 98 participants were shortlisted winners in various categories by a five-man jury led by Prof Tonie Okpe of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

    But, when Aisien Harrison, a Benin-based full-time studio artist, was announced the overall winner by is Royal Majesty Igwe Nnaemeka Acbebe, Obi of Onitsha, there was wild jubilation in the hall.

    Harrison’s Melodius Struggle, a wooden sculpture won him a cash prize of N500,000.

    The other 29 winners included Muoneme Uzuchukwu (Best painting, mixed media and drawing), who got N250,000. Badru Taofeek Abiodun (Best multimedia) N250,000, Nattey Gregory from Ghana won the Photo Africa award of $1000, Idongesit Esong (Ufon Usoro-Uyo/Calabar zone N200,000, Okoro Emmanuel won (Dr. Pius Okigbo award for technical proficiency) N150,000 and a plaque, while Ibrahim Rashidat Folashade (Justice Aniagolu prize for originality) got N100,000.

    Others were Stephen Osochukwu (Best in Edo/Delta zone) – N100,000; Samuel Ilori (Best in Abuja) – N100,000; Raji Bamidele Abdulgaffar (Best in Lagos) – N100,000 and Godwin Ejike Ugwuagbo (Best experimental in Enugu State).

    “This is my third attempt in this art competition. Last year, I made the consolatory prize. Thank God I made it this time. I have always had the belief and faith that I would one day win one of the big awards, but never knew it would come so soon. With this award, I will continue to work harder and be a model to younger artists,” elated Harrison said.

    The Auchi Polytechnic-trained sculptor said his winning piece Melodious Struggle is a commentary on the way Nigerian youths struggle to become a musical star at all costs. Melodious Struggle is a medium size wooden work measuring 30cm that reflects the many challenges most youths face in the struggle to produce hit songs for the music industry. The reclining shape and the skinny frame captured all the hurdles.

    “In rendering the piece, I omitted some forms, such as the head and toes of the figure. But at a closer look, the seeming invisible forms can be seen by discerning art lovers,” Harrison added.

    Igwe Achebe, who chaired the event, enjoined participants to see participation in the festival as much more important than winning the awards. He said the festival has scored high in today’s art scene and has emerged as the most sustaining art event in the country, praying that it continues to grow in strength. He, however, lamented that the government does not appreciate art, which according to him, explained why National Gallery of Art has no gallery of art. The Obi of Onitsha disclosed that he is planning to establish a private museum at Onitsha very soon.

    Appreciating the support of distinguished Nigerians, such as Ms Anne Okigbo, who recently endowed an award in honour of her late father (Dr. Pius Okigbo) for the festival, LIMCAF board chairman Elder Kalu Uka Kalu said such efforts have come to swell the growing list of endowments which began in 2010. They include Justice Anthony Aniagolu, Tayo Adenaike (African Photography award), Bisi Silva award for Lagos zone, Jeff Ajueshi’s Thought Pyramid Gallery, Abuja award for Edo/Delta zone and Mrs Mfon Usoro’s Uyo/Calabar zone award.

    He said it was a great pleasure to see the eager faces of young artists, who gathered at the event not just as contestants, but more especially as aspiring young professionals in training. “They come here every year surely to expand their vision through interaction with older and wiser generations and to test their talent in a conducive atmosphere against those of their peers as well as superiors. In that regard it is a noteworthy pointer to their future that scions of prominent art aficionados of yesteryears, whose parents bought the works of the older generation artists many years ago are now endorsing LIMCAF and its promise by endowing prizes in various categories to encourage the young ones of today,” he added.

    Continuing, Kalu said: “These prizes are, of course, in addition to the four main national prizes including the Overall prize and three best in category prizes. It is our hope that the list will continue to grow as the festival grows in stature and inclusiveness. The Board and its Organising Committee are in fact poised to examine the possibility of promulgating a new and more structured order of category prizes all in a bid to increase the number of young persons, who benefit financially from participating in the festival.

    Present at the award night were former Director-General Nigerian Maritime and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Mrs Mfon Usoro, Ms Anne Okigbo, Elder and Mrs Kalu U Kalu, Chief and Mrs Robert Oji, Igwe LOC Agubuzu, Mr. Peter Eze, Cultural Attache, French Embassy in Nigeria, Miss Aude Urcun, and Mr. Orji Ndem.

    The 9th Life In My City Art Festival, which has as theme, Beyond All Odds, was supported by First Bank Plc, Rocana Nigeria Limited, Alliance Francaise Network in Nigeria, CCA, Lagos, Nike Lake Resort and Hotel, Tachi Studio and CLAM among others. It featured multimedia workshop and presentation, interactive session with top 25 artists, and exhibition.

     

  • Encomiums for Alex-Duduyemi at 80

    Encomiums for Alex-Duduyemi at 80

    It was harvest of encomiums for popular businessman, Chief Oyekunle Alex-Duduyemi, recently, when his biography, Quintessential Colossus, was presented in Lagos.

    The book was written by a communication and development consultant, Oluneye Oluwole, who is also the author of Serve With Heart and Dreams of a Patriot.

    At the event held at the Metropolitan Club, Victoria Island, dignitaries from different fields poured encomiums on the celebrator and the writer too.

    In the publication, Oluwole identified resilience as the secret of Chief Alex-Duduyemi’s success. He seeks to bring to the fore his awe-inspiring doggedness, sense of purpose and never-say-die spirit, all of which played significant roles in his rise as a young lad from Ile-Ife.

    “Each page of the book is a journey into a world of adventures and a launch into a time-machine that is coded with historical events. The book is a representation of hope that strongly advocates a great comeback after every setback; and a blueprint for turning life’s trials and temptations into opportunities,” the publishers say.

    The theme of the keynote address, which was delivered by Mr. Tunde Lemo, a former deputy governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, centred on ‘Managing a Successful Business in a Challenging Environment: Nigeria Case Study.’

    The book reviewer, Prof. Oye Ibidapo-Obe, a former Vice Chancellor, University of Lagos, described the book as excellently edited, with a fascinating pull that cannot be ignored once the pages are turned.

    Also, the Chairman of the event, Chief Ernest Shonekan, attributed Alex-Duduyemi’s attainment of 80 years to the grace and benevolence of God. The chief presenter, Dr. Oba Otudeko (CFR), who is the Chairman, Honeywell Group, anchored the presentation of the book, while the Awujale of Ijebuland, (Oba) Sikiru Adetona, unveiled Quintessential Colossus. Also at the programme was the celebrator’s wife, Chief Shola Alex-Duduyemi.