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Ibe Ananaba goes solo with Towards The Light

Ibe Ananaba goes solo with Towards The Light

Since November 3, 2020, Ibe Ananaba, a painter and philosopher, has been thrilling art lovers and collectors with his solo exhibition titled Towards The Light.

The exhibition, which opened at Temple Muse, Victoria Island, Lagos and also virtually, features recent paintings and drawings by the artist that are grounded in a musical track and encapsulates the rhythm of a generation seeking answers to fundamental questions about identity and equality, democracy, racism and the right to choice and good governance.

The works are worth seeing because Ananaba renders his subjects with deft impressionistic brushstrokes, echoing colourful memories of a liberated time, drawing viewers at the exhibition into rarely visited internal spaces, experiencing renewed joy and peace away from the rush of the noisy, complex lives.

Again, with each portrait, viewers enjoy an inner reverie, which the artist reminds them that they need to guard and find solace in.

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Considering the time we are in, the works bring solace at a time of emotional and political fatigue as we near the end of a very challenging year. While the constraints on our lives in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic are not relenting, and we sustain our support for Nigeria’s inspiring youth movement calling for good governance and an end to police brutality, Annaba’s works remind us to continue to tap into the power of community, and the hope, vitality and pure creative energy of our visionary and impatient youth.

Annaba graduated from the Institute of Management & Technology (IMT) Art School in 1999, with a distinction in Painting, and spent the early part of his career working in advertising, honing his technique and artistry as a fashion illustrator, designer, caricaturist, portraitist, and art director, before becoming a full-time studio artist.

Over the years, Annaba’s art has provided a critical commentary to the state of global and local socio-politics. During the months of the coronavirus lockdown, he kept busy in his studio, a safe cocoon in which music inspired each brushstroke as he painted to drown out the insecurity, the anxiety, the uncertainty, and keep the pandemic at bay. His subjects are presented in strong contrast, with powerful sources of light, which act as sheaves of hope filtering through dark spaces.

His large canvases depict children running across his canvas with arms spread out in full flight, reminding us to give life to dreams of an equitable future. He also paints isolated figures in retreat, waiting, reading, sleeping, thinking, hoping, dreaming, some with their heads doused in furious red colours, demanding more than the status quo. He also renders his subjects with deft impressionistic brushstrokes beckoning us to rediscover our internal peace, away from the rush of our noisy, complex lives. Annaba’s work circles back to the mantra that despite the apparent darkness, we need to keep moving towards the light.

Explaining one of his works featuring at the exhibition, which is entitled ‘Conversation With The Future (Faith In Uncertain Times)’, the artist said, “With the mind as one’s weapon, as well as, control centre, it’s most ideal to load it with some good dose of courage in these uncertain times. The painting articulates my attempt to beam some light in my daughter’s mind that we will get through all this and come out stronger. It is a heart-to-heart message of hope, as I like to view life from an optimistic angle. The animated progression of the poses ultimately leads to the assurance that by strongly holding on to faith, WE SHALL OVERCOME!”

Curated by SMO Contemporary Art, Towards The Light runs from November 3, 2020, to January 10, 2021.