Twenty-Five Percent Done: A Recap of the First Three Months
The first quarter of the year was quite an emotional and jam-packed journey. I know “journey” sounds dramatic, but really, what are we doing here on Earth but on a long arching journey with side-missions here and there?
Segun Ade-Martins
Starting this year, my main mission was to write reviews for movies, and in January, I wrote reviews for Rebel Moon: Part 1, Oscar darling Oppenheimer (for Nolan, finally), for a random short film, for Maestro, and I finished off the month with a foray into music with the story about the eponymous jazz band leader, Sun Ra.
February brought about two major events that opened the way to where I am today. First, I visited The Salon Experience at Moeshen Gallery on February 10.
Hawwa Bolaji-Gbajumo has been curating an interesting environment filled with stimulating debates for years. The Salon typically holds on the first and third Sundays of the month, where young intellectuals share philosophies, which can be lively.
This time the Salon was a festival with tickets, but the most unusual one I have attended. Essentially, the whole festival took place in one room with panel discussions, art, and multimedia presentations. Mind-opening experiences jam-packed into a few hours.
Typically, the Sunday salons are free to attend, but this festival had a price ticket. Now, every Salon has a theme, and this one was “Experimenting Consciousness: Unveiling the Depth of Mind,” and the theme was well expanded upon by the panellists, artists, and guests.
This theme is right up my alley in terms of topics. In fact, I believe all my art, poems, and lyrics to songs I’ve written allude to a higher consciousness.
Unfortunately, I was in such an introverted state that I ended up only absorbing the discourse on the topic. It would have been lovely to contribute or ask questions to clarify the viewpoints of the panellists.
That’s for another day. The standout displays for me were listening to an episode of the Young God podcast from Rodney Omeokachie and Aisha Aliyu-Bima’s thoughts on being a Nigerian creative.
The artist Paulcy Odama played a healing song that carried her through rough times, as well as her painting representing a soul’s consciousness.
Tony Rizkallah’s meditation session was calming-a bit too calming for me, but still a delightful treat. Chef Denike’s food tasting was extraordinarily memorable, with soup, a watermelon and honey combo, and an agbalumo sauce that was outstanding.
The Salon experience was magical and started a trend of going out that would go on through March.
On February 25, I found out a friend had not recovered from an injury sustained earlier, and that was worrying. Even now, I don’t know the status of the person’s recovery.
Before this worrying update, I attended the opening of Earthlings & Others: A Solo Exhibition by Sor Sen at the Nordic Hotel on Thursday, February 22.
Sor Sen has returned with a beautiful body of work again. His impressionistic-style strokes depict a magical, ethereal vista.
His subjects are a merging of plant life with human forms. Some were merged in a surreal manner, as if they were anthropomorphic plants.
The display in the lobby of the Nordic Hotel is the best use of that space. His masterful use of colour was palpable as the lights shone on the painting.
As usual, the atmosphere on opening night was vibrant and eclectic. Of course, this is a credit to Sor Sen’s personality and reputation. The view of his ascent is exciting.
Also, I attended another festival organised by Hearts Heartist, The Offering: Bodies in the City, the outcome of a ten-day Imi lab. The lab has been described by an unidentified person as a “boarding house for creatives.”
This event was an amazing experience. I didn’t meet a huge number of people, but just the few people I met opened up my experiences. This event took place at Ekondo Life, a wellness and plant lifestyle company.
This place has a magical community, and through the event ÌMÍ 2024: Bodies of the City: Re(Imagining) Urban Connections, I have met warm and magical people, enough to sustain my creative appetite for a long time.
At this event, I linked up with my friend Barney, and that exchange brought about meetings with Yeasha, a videographer and creative; Osayuki, an architect and creative writer; and Khadijah, a copywriter, creative, and mental wellbeing enthusiast with the YANA podcast.
The events in March ended with visits to the Matrix Gallery of Contemporary Art on Tuesday, March 19, which exhibited the Inspiring Minds: 2023 Spain in Nigeria Visual Arts Competition. This exhibition showcased the 2nd and 3rd place winners, Nnamdi Udoka and John Ali, respectively. Expertly curated by Rowland Goyit, as usual.
What happened to the winner of the competition? Well, that person will get to tour galleries and art fairs in Spain with their works later this year. How exciting.
Nnamdi Ukoka’s work is breathtaking in person, and well-taken pictures don’t do it justice. He draws and paints scenes of mostly female figures with markers on glass and perspex. One of them was rendered on louvre pane windows. Terrific!
John Ali’s work depicts female figures in a realistic style, expressing symbolic outcomes. With titles like Silent Echoes, Healing on a Gray Day, Inner Truce, etc., paired with iconography featuring bees, flowers, clothing, and the figures’ calm but expressive tones, I find myself brought into an immersive world. A world with stories to explore.
The last art exhibition I attended was on Friday, March 22, at Orisun Gallery, titled Life and Times: A Group Exhibition. It featured the works of Osima Lawani, Eno Young, Tobi Adetimehin, and Paulcy Odama (she’s everywhere). It was curated by Jonathan Adamu as part of Women’s Month programming.
Honestly, the work was heavy for me emotionally. The symbolism of women’s struggles was put on a pedestal, and I felt overwhelmed.
Unfortunately, I missed the artists’ talks because I was catching up with friends. However, I think I got the gist from the artists’ expression. They were nuanced, diverse, and well crafted. An iconic exhibition.
So, on to the next quarter. I hope for more chill moments where I can relate to other creatives and get to a common understanding and collaboration.
Originally published at http://thestrangejournal.wordpress.com on April 8, 2024.
