The “Live-In Desires” exhibition will open on Tuesday, June 11 at Freedom Park, Old Prison Ground, Broad Street, Lagos Island. Time is 5pm.
A statement released by the Curator/Facilitator Uche Okpa-Iroha and Co-facilitator Otuke Charles Ologeh says the “project is examined by a group of emerging Nigerian photographers from multiple perspectives in relation to their environment and living (residential) spaces in Lagos – a megacity of almost 25 million inhabitants”.
Lagos, the statement further says, has become a densely populated city with countless anomalies and as a result, has carved out a peculiar niche and identity for itself.
“The diverse spatial identities of Ikoyi, Victoria and Banana Islands, Ikeja, Apapa, Mushin, Ajegunle and Yaba as well as the sprouting suburbs of Ibafo, Epe, Mowe and Lekki with their distinctive social, economic, cultural and political proclivities are not unfamiliar to Lagosians and the fleeting initiates that comprise the city’s expatriates.
“Lagos has become a 21st century urban phenomenon – organic in its nature and evolution and with a DNA that is laced with energy, tension, creativity, spectacle, entrepreneurial spirit and exuberance, and with all the paradoxes that are often associated with cities experiencing uncontrolled growth in population and poor infrastructure,” the statement explains.
The participating artists are Ebun Akinbo, Ayanfe Olarinde, Ralph Eluehike, Oluwawaheed kayoed, Israel Aigberadion, Omoregie Osakpolor, Obasola Bamigbola, Adedolapo George, Eniola Odunuga, Segun Adewusi, Sonayon Thomas and Christopher Nelson Obuh.
The statement says they are obligated to approach the subject matter from varied perspectives. The idea is to attempt the fusion of human desires with a visual interpretation of the abstract and hopefully to arrive or agree on a discernible formation or structure. The participants’ diverse views consider the unique personalities and characteristics of our spaces (place or neighbourhood) and their inherent identities. And cross-reference these with existing social, economic, political, cultural, and religious and even gender-related factors – elements that impact on our well-being and sway the way we perceive the world.