Tag: Nigeria

Artist Modupeola Fadugba on chance, human agency and conquering fears

Modupeola Fadugba, born in Togo and now based in Nigeria, is an artist who made a 180 degree turn from her studies in engineering, economics and education. However, these have not left been left behind, with elements of economics and education sprinkled on the conceptual foundations of certain artworks. Fadugba focuses on identity, women’s empowerment and social justice within the sociopolitical milieu of Nigeria. Paint, drawing, burnt paper and installations are the mediums through which she creates her socially engaging work.

Her 2016-2017 series Synchronized Swimmers takes its point of departure from an intimate and innocent memory she had as a child growing up in Lome. This memory was her fear of the sea, its vastness was too daunting and confusing to comprehend. The pools she was exposed to when she moved to the US for a while were less frightening, but her fear of the water remained until faced with compulsory lap-swimming classes at boarding school in England, aged eleven. Her first long drawn lap left her with a sense of accomplishment, and made her realize the water could be conquered. 20 years later in Nigeria she found herself facing another water-related fear, diving. With encouragement from her brother she leapt into the water from the diving board. While these may seem silly, they acted as forms of encouragement for her art, having decided to delve into the art world full time. Fadugba’s ‘pool’ works fall into two series of painting, Tagged (2015-2016) and Synchronized Swimmers (ongoing). Tagged sees a group of young women moving under and over the water in pursuit of a red ball. Synchronized Swimmers on the other hand sees young women clustering their bodies and hands together to lift one another into the sky. The red ball still makes an appearance, but the figures do not pay attention to it. Fadugba’s combination of acrylic, oil and burnt paper give the paintings a mysterious and confusing atmosphere, and yet the figures make the work visually appealing.

‘Synchronized Swimmers’

A second collection of work titled Heads or Tails (2014-2017) sees Fadugba unpack the Latin motto that appears on the American dollar bill – Annuit cœptis.In her artists statement she explains that “the US Mint translates Annuit cœptis as ‘He [God] has favoured our undertakings,’ and the United States’ official motto—’In God We Trust’—emblazoned across the centre of the bill leaves no doubt as to God’s supreme presence. Yet the original Latin could be more accurately translated as ‘our undertakings have been favoured’; there is no direct mention of God, no certainty as to who is bestowing the favour.” With this interpretation Fadugba questions the certainty of who does the watching over, and who receives the favour. Heads or Tails looks at the themes of chance and value and how they determine the course of people’s lives. The series consists of paper painted coins of various sizes, with the faces of Black women appearing on them. These paintings appear on burnt paper. The coins and combined with the title point to the idea of the coin toss, a recurring theme in Fadugba’s work, signaling her preoccupation with luck and human agency.

Her artist statements and explanations of her work channel the creative writing spirits of Chinua Achebe and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie with their poetic and relatable nature.

To check out more of Fadugba’s work visit her website.

‘Heads or Tails’

‘Heads or Tails’

‘Synchronized Swimmers’

6 June 2018
Art director and photographer Lubabetu Abubakar creates honest, bold images

Lubabetu Abubakar aka Lubee Abubakar studied law, but has been making the transition to a full-time photographer and art director. With a focus on fashion, she illuminates the people she photographs with her delicate approach to capturing each image. She has been presented as one of the photographers bringing attention to her home country, Nigeria, with her participation in the 2017 LagosPhoto Festival.

With her transition to a full-time creative practice Abubakar allows herself to experiment while finding a way to create a signature in her imagery. She plays with colour in bold, and sometimes subtle ways, forming a visual language that draws the viewer in and engenders a curiosity around the people in her photographs. The models in her images often have an intense engagement with the camera, looking directly and confidently at the viewer. However, Abubakar softens this intensity, making their stares come across more inviting than intimidating.

One of Abubakar’s more personal projects, a series titled ‘Ojoro‘, explores themes related to womanhood and welcoming a woman into adulthood. This series is accompanied by a text that intimately expresses what a woman feels when on her period. The connection between the images and text shares with audiences an honesty and rawness that provokes emotive responses.

The presentation of her work online appears as a puzzle, with each photograph and gif on her home page pointing to different aspects of her work. Viewers can see commercial work alongside images that take on a more documentary style, showing a diversity of work.

Check out Abubakar website to keep up with her work.

21 May 2018
Mother of Invention // a sci-fi short story by Nnendi Okorafor accompanied by gifs by Shyama Golden

“It was a beautiful sunny day, and yet Anwuli knew the weather was coming for her.”

This is the opening line from science fiction author Nnendi Okorafor latest short story Mother of Invention. She teamed up with artist Shyama Golden to help animate scenes from the story, creating a series of gifs that highlight the essence of the story.

The story is about a pregnant woman named Anwuli who gives birth during a pollen storm in Nigeria. She is assisted in the birth by her smart home. Her doctor appears as a hologram version of a missed call and she skips to the part in the message about pollen allergies, and later on her baby is delivered by a drone. The story is powerful in the way it draws parallels between effects of the pollen storm and the moment of childbirth experienced by the main character.

The illustrations were created entirely on an iPad, and are visually able to draw readers into the story with a colour palette and subtle movements that mimic the calm rocking of a child. Shyama, with the assistance of designer Antonia, inserts Igbo patterns into the home scene, and a specific pattern around the belly of Anwuli, which is a talisman for pregnant women. The story has a poetic characteristic to it, making its futuristic elements easier to process, and humanising the posthuman imaginary.

The imagery in the gifs defy the dualisms of natural and man-made, nature and machine, present and future. This can be seen by the way the pollen storm uproots flowers and causes silver orbs to bob around in a grid-like terrain.

2 May 2018
Pop Caven // a streetwear brand foregrounding African pop culture

Pop Caven is a streetwear brand that combines pop culture, cheeky plays with typography and African histories in their collections of tees and sweatshirts. Started in 2016 by sisters Joan and Doreen Caven, the name for the brand is a showing of gratitude towards their father who they credit for nurturing the “pop culture loving, classic film obsessed, African art history geeks we turned out to be”. The intention for the brand is to highlight African artists, musicians, tastemakers and influencers who continue to pushed back against the distorted views of the continent, and who solidified the importance of local knowledge systems and creativity.

They recognize that pop culture is large worldwide and that African people have an equally large buying power. Joan and Doreen take the nostalgia they have for their childhood, their exposure to global pop culture brands and mash them together with culturally significant references from Nigeria. One of their most recognizable tees sees the Coca Cola typeface with the words ‘Kola Nut’, which is sacred in Igbo culture (their own culture) and is used to welcome guests into one’s village or home. They have also used the FILA logo, and changed the words to ‘FELA’ as a tribute to one of Nigeria’s musical icons. There latest collection includes ‘Accra’ written in the DHL font, the ‘Africa is not a country’ slogan and ‘No Wahala’ [slang for no worries or no problem] with records, roses and leopards on tees. While these items take on a the character of a parody, each one serves as a platform to teach, inspire and remember. Wearers and viewers have to do a double take, flipping the script for these well-known logos and typefaces.

The Pop Caven website allows browsers to shop for their latest collections, as well as have access to information about fellow artists, designers and creatives of African descent in the section ‘Pop x Platform’. This is a direct step towards making sure creatives are able to present their work to a global audience, and offer the opportunity for them to build their own brands.

“Straight from Africa, delivered to the world”. This section in their brand bio emphasizes how the two aspects – their clothing and their platform for other creatives – combine to take ownership of creativity and distribution.

Check out the Pop Caven website for their latest tees and sweaters.

23 April 2018
South Africa, What’s Up? Residency at ANTiGEL Festival

Over the last 8 years ANTiGEL Festival has grown to become one of the largest cultural events in Geneva. By bringing artistic experience to parts of the city that are detached from this kind of engagement, the festival aims to be a reminder of the importance of making spaces for arts and culture. Africa What’s Up is a residency that falls within the festival. Artists from South Africa and Egypt have been invited to put together an evening dedicated to cultural music and cultural production on their countries.

Photography by Chris Saunders

Throughout the week-long residency, South African and Egyptian artist have been interacting with cultural producers from Mali, Nigeria and Switzerland. It has also provided a moment of pause and refection. In addition to the time spent networking and teasing out performance plans, artists have been able to engage with one another and the residency organisers in daily roundtable discussions. This expands the purpose of the residency to that of a space for conversations that directly affect artists. These include conversations around womxn’s access to performance time and how this is connected to networks, resources and development. Discussions also included the larger question of access for artists in general with regards to visa applications and funding to sustain their practices.

Photography by Viviane Sassen

Even though the residency has a focus on music, it also embraces the importance of cross-disciplinary pollination. This can be seen by the performance element.

South Africa’s CUSS Group and the Swiss cultural organisation Shap Shap co-curated the South Africa What’s Up lineup, which includes performances by FAKA, DJ Prie Nkosazana, Dirty Paraffin and DJ Lag. Choreographer Manthe Ribane and Swiss electro-soul duo Kami Awori will be presenting their collaborative effort. Having met in Johannesburg, they have combined music, choreography and a visual display to present a full sensory experience.

Photography by Kent Andreasen

What is particularly important about the residency is how it encourages cross-disciplinary pollination and has opened up discussion around what it necessary to facilitate easier access to gigs and spaces for African artists. It has also provided a space to draw out how these kinds of conversations need to be translated into pragmatic steps for action.

Photography by Chris Saunders

9 February 2018
I.AM.ISIGO – Transcontinental Threads

Voluminous texture envelops feminine frames. A minimal design aesthetic applied to a soft palette reflective of an African landscape. Bare lines constructed from threads of flow and movement, sway to contours of the body. Designer Bubu Ogisi fuses traditional culture and contemporary form in visual silhouettes. The fashion label, I.AM.ISIGO straddles half of the globe – based between Nigeria, Ghana and France.

The name of the label was derived from Ogisi’s surname – articulated as an inversion. This playful attitude to subverting binding constructions of identity is reflective of her rebellious personality. The process of renaming was also used as an opportunity to start afresh. “I wanted to [be] unrecognized … to have a name that is the opposite of what people perceive of me – a name that is as mysterious as the brands core aesthetic”

The brand’s inception began in Ghana as a part-time pursuit. However, in 2013 after a hiatus and moving to Paris, a new strategy was employed to expand the project. Experience and a steep learning curve furthered knowledge in navigating the industry. “We are ever evolving, but wanted to define the direction.”

Strong aesthetic influences stem from lived experiences – weaving between cityscapes scattered across continents. Ogisi also cites her mother as a seminal influence. “I think it’s important to always stay true to yourself. Yes, I am Nigerian by birth, and the traditional ways will always be a part of me, but that doesn’t strictly define my work and the brand is a representation of that.” She believes that art reflects life – her position echoes the multicultural cultural experience she has lived.

“I think it’s impossible to not be naturally influenced by that network of things”. She articulates it as a kind of unconscious embedding. “We are inspired by all aspects of design.” Recently the brand has extended into the field of art and functional furniture. “While continuing to broaden our presence within Europe, we will be expanding to the western market within the next year. Although there have been opportunities presented in the past to make that move, we feel as if the brand is in a great place for taking on that market. Our foundation is strong, and the team is ready. We are truly excited to be embarking on this new chapter.” I.AM.ISIGO already hosts retail stores in Lagos, Accra, Lusaka, London, Johannesburg, Addis Ababa and Paris and is ready for the next frontier.

28 October 2016