The Apapa Community in Lagos will celebrate the Easter season with a special offering from two contemporary Nigerian artists. It will also be a veritable platform for Apapa residents to join the big league of art collectors and connoisseurs hitherto monopolised by those on Lagos Island, Lekki and Ikoyi areas of the state.
Symbolically, Apapa residents are going beyond the norms or confines of the time to partake in savouring the rich collection of artworks.
Interestingly, the two exhibiting artists, Dr. Adeola Balogun and Nurudeen Popoola, were once under one roof as teacher and student. Today, both artists who are products of Yaba College of Technology, Lagos have not only grown in stature, but have also nurtured their reputations as seasoned sculptor and painter respectively.
The joint exhibition, tagged Off Confines is expected to feature a rich bouquet of paintings, mixed media and sculptures that reflect their individual creative trajectories. It will open on March 24 till April 13, at Q Gallery Contemporary Art House 3, Ashabi Adedire Close, Opposite Apapa Boat Club, Apapa Lagos. It will run for three weeks. Each artist will feature 15 works.
Balogun, who held his 13th solo exhibition titled Transmogrification in 2022, will showcase his capacity in transforming mundane materials that have seemingly lost their primary purpose into objects of remarkable aesthetic contemplation, imbued with multilayered meanings. His exploration of up-cycling of e-wastes (electronic panels) gives new life to fond objects. These are engaged through their characteristic of being integral components in technology, either in two or three dimensions. Balogun applies electronic wastes as a universal metaphor to interrogate the notion of technology and transformation, which underlines the increasing role of information technology in today’s life. For him, the show affords him the opportunity to show some of his new works, not the usual metal or waste tyre sculptures.
On the spirit of the exhibition theme, Balogun said: “For me, I constantly inspire my mentees, and I enjoin them not to restrict their practice to a single source-all materials in the environment should reflect in their works. Now, in Information Technology world, there are lots to pick from for their practice. I have explored used tyres in the past.
In 2022, his solo show titled Transmogrification, was inspired by IT space in which he reflected goldmine and landmine divide inherent in cyber space. Currently Balogun extracts motifs that symbolize tracks on electronic panels for use on sculptures and paintings. The IT space, he said, has impacted the life of mankind. His collection for display includes 10 sculptures and five drawings among them are Landmines and goldmines (mixed media), Rhythm of the moments (series) (steel), Myriads of perspective (mixed media), Bullish, and Rhythm of the moment (mixed media).
For Popoola, most of his works are inspired by Africa and its people. But though young, he is not a rookie in Lagos exhibition circuit having participated in many major art shows such as Lasgidi Arts and Cultural Festival 2012, Passing on the torch, (Didi Museum) 2014, Lagos art and fashion exhibition 2015, and the 5th Lasgidi cultural art exhibition 2015. He won the best painting/mixed media award in 2018 Life In My City Arts Festival (LIMCAF).
His collection addresses issues of modernity in Africanism using paintings that are a blend of impressionism and pop art. He interrogates the mentality of many Africans desire to be like the West at the expense of their roots. “The essence of my works is to draw attention to that hunger by many to be like the West. And it is to tell Africans that in the quest to be like the West, we must not forget our roots,” he said. Some of the paintings are in series such as Kings and Queens. Popoola uses simple motifs and colours to address social issues like security.
Q Gallery Contemporary Art Manager, Oke Gabriel said the gallery was opened in 2021 to promote art as well as provide Apapa residents the window of opportunities to experience art activities.
