The space was lightened up with creatives, visuals, sonic installations and works that speak to history, times, events and symbols all coming together to provoke diverse meanings in the minds of the visitors who had come to see the exhibitions at the Art X Lagos fair.
With works highlighting the power of culture to speak to important local and global contemporary issues, the fair showcased artistic excellence from Africa and its global diaspora.
The high point for many who had come to see the exhibitions was works by Victor Ehikhamenor, multi-hyphenate artist presenting his visual and sonic installation ‘Ulin-nóifo, The Lineage That Never Ends’.
Ehikhamenor’s works incorporate rosary beads, bronze and sound works and can be seen as sensorial anagrams that allows us to study the historic artefacts that have shaped the Benin cultural and political histories, inviting us to a contemplate new omens for Nigeria’s present and future realities.
The works presented challenge our beliefs and the choices we make as we move between time and beyond space.
“Ehikhamenor has used a lot of beads and religious objects in many of his works. You can see the rosary beads. If the lights were to be turned off, you will see a completely different thing. Coming in here would look like you are going into the court of an Oba. So you will have to go through the gate keeper and then, there are people who are in the royal courts and in the right hand of the king is the queen.
“Going back to art history, about a century ago, there was a time when the British did an expedition to Benin City. They took things away from the kingdom, they chased the king into exile, they took some of the works to the UK and the basis for that is that if you look at this, it looks fetish, it’s dark. This is not how you pray to God. They had all sorts of reasons for doing what they did.
“If we truly want to think about this in its essence, all these are things used for religious worship. Call it a ‘Babalawo’ or an ‘ifa’, this is used to commune with the higher deity, probably a god. What is the rosary used for? It is simply the same thing and yet you see the rosary and think it’s okay and we relegate what was initially ours and indigenous, to something dark and fetish,” Akinyemi Adetunji, an Art Curator and the person managing the project on behalf of Victor Ehikhamenor and Art X explained.
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Another work which speak to the times and situations in Nigeria is the work by Ann Adams, a contemporary ceramic artist, titled ‘Ruwa Yazo’ which means, ‘Water Has Come’
This work is a graphic display of a girl child pushing a cart with kegs of water. In this work, Adams shows lack of accessibility to clean water especially by children.
Moni Aisida, gallery manager, Affinity Art Gallery said data by UNICEF show that one-third of every Nigerian child do not have access to clean water and this is a huge contributing factor to the mortality rate of children.
Aisida said Adams also noticed that this is a problem that persisted since she was a child. “Since she was a child she has been seeing the ‘Meruwas’ pushing the carts and now she is a full-fledged adult and she is still seeing the ‘Meruwas’ pushing the carts. She is wondering what the government is doing about the situation.”
“This work is how access to clean water affects both male and female children. Looking at the flooding that is happening in most places in Nigeria; we have heard there is a cholera outbreak because there is no clean water. The water is stagnant and dirty. Climate change has made the situation worse,” Aisida said.
Chigozie Obi, Access Art X prize winner for last year said displaying her work at the Art X Lagos feels fulfilling.
“Art saved me, Art is a way I can express myself freely and I love that people can interact with it as well. I think African Art will continue to expand. There is a spotlight right now on African art; a lot of African artists are really becoming more successful and popular.
“With something like this fair, it introduces a lot of people who don’t really know about art to art, and if we can have more of this fair, I can see the space growing and artists becoming more appreciated because all forms of art are valid,” Obi said.
ART X Lagos, one of the leading international art fairs in West Africa, returned this year for its seventh edition, and showcased the unique ability of contemporary art to inspire, uplift and empower, through this year’s theme, ‘Who Will Gather Under the Baobab Tree?’
The 2022 edition of the fair which held from 4-6 November at The Federal Palace, Victoria Island, Lagos included Special Projects showcasing the diversity of African contemporary art in response to this year’s theme, with Victor Ehikhamenor, multi-hyphenate artist presenting his visual and sonic installation ‘Ulin-nóifo, The Lineage That Never Ends’; Senegalese-Moroccan artist Linda Dounia’s digital artificial intelligence installation ‘Once Upon A Garden’; and Ranti Bam, who through her painting and clay sculptures, will present a performance project ‘Sowing Seeds In Heartland’.
ART X Talks – the fair’s lively panel discussion series – spanned themes such as the building of equitable futures for Africans and people of African descent, and more, with highlights including a special conversation with the British-Ghanaian photographer James Barnor, who has grappled with themes of postcolonialism and identity for six decades. ART X Live! – a one-of-a-kind live music experience – featured performances from some of the fastest-rising artists and musicians on the African continent.
ART X Lagos is sponsored by Access Corporation, Afreximbank, Anap Jets, Chapel Hill Denham, Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers and Zircon Marine.
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