Fred Ebami, Franco-Cameroonian digital pop artist, is bringing a vivid and refreshing point of view to conventional pop art. Inspired by masters like Basquiat, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and Oliviero Toscani, his work is the bridge between the past and the future. Fred is a founding member of the collectif On A Slame Sur La Lune, an organisation which is part of a popular citizen education process. The collectif intervenes to raise public awareness of the duty to remember history. It drives the dialogue about culture through the ever-increasing number of cultural interventions like exhibitions, writing workshops, artistic installations, festivals, meetings, publications, and editions of original works.
He has been featured in the Black Gotha of France and Europe and was named one of the Most Influential African Artists of 2018. His artwork has been exhibited in Galerie MAM in Douala Cameroon, The 1-54 in Marrakech (Off the Tracks), The Tate Modern Gallery in London, The Dakar Biennale, The 2010 Alliance Francaise in Johannesburg, The Art Basel in Miami and Niketown, Champs Elysees in Paris, among others.
Having his work auctioned in the Monte-Carlo Auction House, Monaco and Drouot’s auction house in Paris has established him as a force to reckon with in the art world.
Exhibiting for the first time in Lagos, Alien Nashun, sponsored by Art De Vivre wines by Gerard Bertrand is a retrospective of some of Fred’s most iconic pieces with a few customized lithographs. The exhibition will immediately immerse you in his universe and attendees will be drawn in by the creative energy of his work, the different messages on each artwork, his vibrant choice of colors mixed with different types of mediums like acrylic, 3D paint, pastels and digital on canvas. Lagos Edition Pepper Soup is an experiential collaboration between Fred Ebami and Moyo Ogunseinde’s Aga Culture, a design brand that tells African stories through objects and accessories. This body of work will explore the intersection of pop art and product design, drawing inspiration from the rich West African heritage and global perspective to reinterpret and re-imagine objects and form. An avid lover of fashion, Fred will also collaborate with upcoming urban wear brand Vanity Island to create limited edition T-shirts that will be available at the event.
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Speaking on his expectations at the exhibition, Fred, who is happy to be in Nigeria for the first time, as well as excited that the exhibition is a reality after about seven years talk on it, wants to introduce pop art to people who will be coming for the exhibition and to see the art from a different angle. “I want people to be looking at my way of talking about the society, how I see society, how I want people to connect with each other using icons, slogans, and using my Cameroon/Africa roots and my European influence because I was born and raised in France”, he says.
Explaining the choice of Lagos, Nigeria for the exhibition, Fred says, “I am bringing my exhibition to Nigeria because Nigeria is it, music wise, fashion wise, artistic wise. America is even copying Nigeria now. Though we have big markets like South Africa, Ghana, and Abidjan, Nigeria brought another angle to how magnificent we are.
“Also, when you have big artistes in America copying Nigerian style, dress and art, it is logical that I come back to Nigeria”.
The exhibition is also being curated by MB PR Agency. Speaking on the artist and the agency’s involvement, Maeva Sabot, director, MB PR Agency, notes that the agency is representing Fred in Nigeria as his agent with another 15 artists.
She notes further that MB PR Agency wanted Fred to exhibit in Lagos, not only because it is a dream come true, but pop art is underrated in Nigeria, with a lot of people saying that pop art is not art.
“This is a great opportunity to bring him here to exhibit because for my 21 years here in Nigeria, I have never gone to a pop art exhibition”, she says.
She also said that the exhibition will showcase Fred as one of the biggest pop artists in the world today, create awareness in Nigeria and inspire young ones with his art.
The exhibition and collaborative events will be held at The Boutique in the prestigious Radisson Blu Anchorage Hotel, Lagos from November 7 – 21, 2021.
