Akpojotor’s solo exhibition debuts in Lagos

Visual artiste, Marcellina Akpojotor’s first solo exhibition themed ‘She Was Not Dreaming’ has opened in Lagos. The exhibition at Rele Gallery, which began on October 28 runs till December, 30 2018. Akpojotor’s work is made up of two parts. The first part, ‘Daughter of Esan,’ is a generational story of timeless ambition and one woman […]

Visual artiste, Marcellina Akpojotor’s first solo exhibition themed ‘She Was Not Dreaming’ has opened in Lagos.

The exhibition at Rele Gallery, which began on October 28 runs till December, 30 2018.

Akpojotor’s work is made up of two parts. The first part, ‘Daughter of Esan,’ is a generational story of timeless ambition and one woman who saw into the future. The second, the ‘Power Series,’ is an ode to the countless women who are being empowered all around the world, just as her great grandmother sought to do with her family.

In January of 2017, Akpojotor participated in the Rele Young Contemporaries group exhibition where she presented the ‘Cradle Series,’ mixed-media on canvas portraits of her then one-year old daughter. After the exhibition, she continued to develop her chosen medium of using revived pieces sourced from fashion houses who would otherwise discard them. Enrolling at the Obafemi Awolowo Univeristy art school in the same year to pursue a Bachelors Degree, Akpojotor sought to deepen her knowledge of forms and composition. The result of this learning process allowed her to move beyond portraits to creating more in-depth pieces.

Akpojotor’s creation process involves folding strips of ankara fabric to create highly textured two-dimensional works. The canvases are painted with vibrant colours that have several patterns reminiscent of ancient Benin symbols. She is particularly inspired by ‘Girl with Leopard,’ a plaque from the court of Benin which was created in the 1600s.

A significant animal in the ancient Benin kingdom, the leopard is prominent in some of the works in this exhibition as a symbol for kinship, strength and authority. Akpojotor also uses shadows and intentionally creates negative spaces on the faces of some of the characters to emphasize that background and history are important in shaping life’s trajectory.

‘Daughter of Esan’ depicts five generations of women (Akpojotor’s great-grand mother, her grand-mother, her mother, herself and her child) with roots from Esan, an ethnic group from central Edo State.