Starting from October 4, three young Nigerian contemporary artists will be participating in an exhibition in London. The Nigerian entry is tagged Commotion. Edozie Udeze reports
Commotion, an art exhibition of three of Nigeria’s most outstanding and resilient young artists will open in London on October 4. According to Sandra Mbanefo-Obiago of the SMO Contemporary Art, the curator of their works, the artists are Olumide Onadipe, Taiye Idahor and Nengi Omuku.
In a statement, Obiago said, “SMO is delighted to take part in the 1:54 Contemporary African Art by presenting Commotion”. Commotion, she explained in a statement, includes works of three of Nigeria’s most exciting avant-garde artists. Their works on canvas, paper and mixed media show and totally reflect the diverse and dynamic artsphere gaining momentum in Lagos of today. The venue of the exhibition is East Wing-Somerset House, London. It will be on for five days.
In all, Commotion is loaded with the energy and tenacious resilience which reflects mainly in Onadipe’s works. His works are often tightly knotted, with burnt and woven wall hangings created out of the ubiquitous plastic bags. These often carry the daily existence of Africa’s masses, constantly in motion and looking for things to live on.
In lean on me and running steps, for instance, Onadipe touches on the mind-space of migrants escaping towards safety. The two works also show an artist whose interest in the stability of these migrants is uppermost in his expression. Obiago stated it thus: “His densely knotted, undulating crowd commotion, woven out of tightly twisted powerful symbol of our collective thirst for socio-economic sustainability and good governance,” is most fascinating.
Born in 1982, Onadipe studied Fine and Applied Arts at the Federal College of Education, Akoka, Lagos. He later took a degree in Education (Art) from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and a Masters in Applied Arts from University of Lagos. A contemporary artist, he is also a member of several arts bodies within and outside Nigeria.
He has been involved in many group and solo exhibitions. Most of all, his works often distinguish him from the rest. One of his major collaborations took place in 2013 in which the US consulate and Nike Art Gallery were involved.
On his own part, Idahor’s signature collage and ink drawings from her hybrid series have evolved into works which engage her ability to transcend and transit. In this way, her tightly curled and plaited strands of hair draw in deeper reincarnated realities evolving the history and identity of Africans. On her part, Obiago made it clear that, “There is abundance of energy and motion in Idahor’s compositions which also rise and spread out in new direction”. In the process, her works try to question or probe our collective beliefs and memories. These memories tend to also migrate and assume a fresh aesthetics through visual, emotional or historic platforms”. When this happens, Idahor’s works show outstanding signature which can be noticed even miles away. Therefore, you can’t mistake her works even amongst the array of other works.
Born in 1984, she studied Fine Arts at the Yaba College of Technology, Lagos. She specialised in sculpture and has been practicing her art in Lagos. Using collage, drawing, sculpture and mixed media, Idahor often explores layers of themes. These make her works at once expansive and deeply intimate, expressing both female and African within the broader contexts of history, tradition, memory and globalisation. For her, sculptures should have form, identity and more.
Indeed, in many of her works hair is predominant; it is often a recurring motif which carries different symbolic elements as well as the many facets and contradictions of female identity. Basically, her attention is on Africa.
She uses this motif in certain situations to zero into her family history, thus creating rich works that speak volumes. Idahor is included in this commotion due to this peculiarity of her expressions of hair and the image of the female in African renaissance. Therefore, through her works, she creates dialogue, she imbibes traditions. She also invites the public into her private and family life. Today, she is involved in efforts to use her works to touch the world as a globalised entity.
Nengi Omuku’s emotional self-portraits show an artist breaking through the pressure, strictures and anxiety of artistic practice, while drawing inspiration from the tightly crowded face-me-I-face-you housing units in Nigeria. Obiago stated that these units “reflect the very fibre of over-populated mega-city existence. She has migrated her amorphous beings from her typical cloudy covered landscapes and then placed them in new colourful geometric space”. In all these, reflect the edgy, sophisticated reality which is rising and expressing a dynamic new African millennial narrative.
Omuku’s colours are often deeper than her contemporaries can comprehend. Yet, she is a lover of dynamic landscapes that describe the surface of her society. These reflections are always exclusive to her. She has over time mastered the grasp of colours as a means of reaching out to the public. What is more – she is involved in this commotion to further showcase her young talent to the wider scope.
Omuku studied Fine Arts at the Glade School of the Art, University College of London. There, she took two degrees in the Arts and has been having series of group and solo exhibitions in the UK. Omuku is a scholar as well as a studio artist whose love for colours is profound.
Even though she now lives in Nigeria, her works show global outlook and reach. She experiments on metaphorical works that explore human nature; that hinge on physical forms, showing her as a lover of colours and marks and humanity.
It is often her desire to convey portraits that float through active spaces. In other words, she also explores these encounters to show what happens to human nature. This is why over time, she has been vibrant showcasing her works in the most outstanding ways possible.
All these experiments and works will be on display when the commotion opens on the 4th of October. Obiago is intent on using it to present artists who have been on their toes projecting Nigerian artistic environment in the most glorious and glamorous formats.
It will be time when these wonderful works of art will cause commotion in world arena. It will be time to prove that Nigerian art is not just contemporary but rich in all aspects of the visual art.
Obiago’s role in issues of this nature is to further prosper Nigeria’s arts and ensure that as many as possible are given the opportunity and space to showcase their works.
