…exhibition holds at National Museum
From visual art, media and advertising, film and other creative genres, the Meshoye family is big in the arts.
But the family seems bigger in visual art with over 100 works in its private collection, across different media.
Considering the huge collection of artifacts and related objects, Demola Meshoye, a young art enthusiast, is taking the family’s passion for arts further with a visual art exhibition.
His passion follows after Bode Meshoye, his father, who trained as a painter at Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, with lots of works to his credit and also successfully ran an advertising and marketing firm, as well as Yemi Meshoye, his uncle, who was a film director, and Tunji Meshoye, another uncle in the creative space.
Riding on those successes, Demola, who is fondly called Mesh by family and friends, is stepping out with his first exhibition entitled ‘Nostalgia’.
The exhibition, which is the first of many to come, according to him, will feature 25 and 30 works from 10-13 artists across the old, not-too-young and the younger generations.
Its VIP opening will be on May 31, 2024 at the National Museum Onikan, Lagos.
Speaking of the forthcoming exhibition, Demola explained that, “This is my first exhibition and the first of many to come by God’s grace. I am passionate about this project, I want to do something that when we reach the level we planned going to, the Nigerian government will ask who are these people doing this thing, let’s get to know them”.
For the title of the exhibition, he also explained that ‘Nostalgia’ came about because of the need to bring something that represents history and something that represents the elders into the current day.
“We are trying to show you the beauty of the past, how we can replicate it, how it shaped the future and how it can continue to shape the future,” he said.
Nostalgia, according to him, will be featuring artists who have been painting in the 60s, 70s and even some who were painting before Nigeria gained independence.
“It is about the old and the new, we want to have a balanced and rich mixture of art and craft in the exhibition,” he said.
Works on display at the exhibition, according to him, are not going to be just art but a variety of offerings from old school artists and new school.
“We have metal works by greats like Fidelis Odogwu, we have paintings from Udeze from the 60s, 70s, works from Bruce Onobrakpeya, Jossy Ajiboye, Mufu Onifade, Kehinde Balogun”.
Explaining what makes the exhibition unique, Demola noted that, “We don’t just want to showcase the art, but create an experience for the audience. There are certain features and additions that we are trying to bring to the table to create a wow experience. We want the audience to say after their visits that they didn’t just see art, but also felt art; it was like the art was on their body, like the artists painted on their body. That is the unique effect and impact we are going for”.
Most importantly, Demola hopes to ride on the successful exhibition to realize his ultimate plan of opening Mesh Gallery, a physical gallery, as the gallery runs virtually now.
Once again, the Nostalgia exhibition, being presented by Mesh Gallery, opens for the VIP on May 31, 2024 and the public on June 1, 2024 at National Museum Onikan Lagos.
