Paintings, photography, more at ‘Abuja live’

Why did you decide to have the exhibition? I conceived the theme while I was in residency in Sweden in June, just after one of my presentation in a museum, where I gave a little insight of creative activities in Abuja, and I thought about something that will highlight the creative and cultural vibrancy in […]

Why did you decide to have the exhibition?

I conceived the theme while I was in residency in Sweden in June, just after one of my presentation in a museum, where I gave a little insight of creative activities in Abuja, and I thought about something that will highlight the creative and cultural vibrancy in Abuja, so Abuja Alive is about the Abuja creatives, it is about the new spirit of young and emerging contemporary artists that are constantly doing something new to keep the soul of the city alive.

How did you decide on which artist to exhibit?
We made an open call and when the works came in, I was mostly interested in the trajectory, the context, and narrative, making sure we were within the framework of the exhibition.
However, I was also interested in the social relevance of the works, the dialogues emanating from the works, as all piece of art is a dialogue in silence felt through the artist eyes or mind.
Did you deliberately set out to have photos and paintings or was it co-incidence.
Well not so deliberate or co-incidental, I will simply say that it was an open call to show all media, including new media art like photography, it is something we are positioned to do, to promote new media art as well as the conventional art forms like paintings and sculptures, at IICD center, we are about the artist visibility as well as his medium.

What theme is the exhibition addressing and why?

Abuja Alive is about the constant dialogue going on from the artist lens to the artist brush and the social relevance of his voice, his environment and personal experiences in building his trajectory. It is aimed at sparking constant dialogue between the artist and the audience, creating a platform for social-cultural interactions.

Could you tell us about any of the works exhibited?

I do love all works selected, however, the work by Blaize Itodo, titled ‘The Pyramid’ is one of my favourites. I love that photography so much, I enjoyed the space and light, the illusion of the landscape, because it lets you wonder how come the boy in the image is taller than the house, until the artist tells you there was a gully between where the boy is standing and the house…like a foreshorten distance.