MODELS OR PRISONERS?

Behind your camera
You saw us
At the heart of your lens
We are imprisoned

Our nudity, our ensemble
Our demeanour, our charisma
Our physiognomy, our nerd
Immortalized by you

Time will change
Moments will pass
We will exist
As objects of immortality

Are we the products of art?
Or the producers?
Or objects of possession?
Are we models or prisoners?

Photo credit: Foto Afrik

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‘From Discards to Coveted’: The Changing Status of Fabrics

Mathew Oyedele Samuel Nnorom's The Politics of Fabrics is an exhibition of works that were created during a one-month residency program at Guest Artists Space Foundation, Lagos, Nigeria. For the first time in his career, the artist who lives and works in Nsukka, was able to create works in Lagos – the economic and cultural capital of Nigeria – with materials obtained from it. The exhibited pieces continued the artist's interest in narratives and subjects around fabrics but marked a stylistic departure from his previous explorations of ankara fabrics which are centered around the examination of social structure, social organisation, human condition, safe spaces, distribution and distance. The new work looks at imported second-hand clothes from the West and how they affect the development of our local textile industry. These second-hand clothes and cast-off fabrics have different names in Nigeria. While they are popularly known as Okrika , they are also known as Akube , Bend D...

NO HOME

My beloved house has treated me thus It has led me on the back of the wheels Ocean from my eyes Farewell, I bid. They exist in my head The slaughtering, killing, butchering, Murder. Heads assembled on the mattress Wrappers, west Scarfs, east Breast, dangled. Ahead is a lion Behind is a crocodile Where do I go? Where do I stay? There is no home Just a space to occupy For today I exist Tomorrow I know not.

Seeing Through The Indignant Eye

Mathew Oyedele With the ongoing happenings in the country, Samuel Ajobiewe is right to entitle his recent exhibition The Indignant Eye . These happenings did not just start but the faulty lines have always been there to be maneuvered by those who are entrusted with the sanctity of Nigerian institutions. The exhibition took its title from the 1969 book by Ralph E. Shikes which positions the artist as a social critic. Ajobiewe is not an unknown name in the Nigerian art scene. He is a renowned artist who works across diverse media including pastel, watercolour and acrylic. He had his first solo exhibition in 2009 at Mydrim Gallery in Lagos and has since gone on hiatus until his recent exhibition at the National Museum, Lagos. Perhaps the thirteen year hiatus has enabled him to observe, contemplate and solidify his socio-political commentaries. One of his bold socio-politically themed pieces at the exhibition, albeit satirical, is The Ineffectual Scarecrow , an acrylic on canvas piece...

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