Visions of Home: Lagos to Accra brings together works from Cornelius Annor,Orry Shenjobi, Olamide Ogunade,and Nana Bruce with different interpretations of their view of home. Focusing on contemporary portraiture, these artists are observers of their immediate surroundings.
Nigerian artists Orry Shenjobi and Olamide Ogunade lean into nostalgia and memory in their practice. As Shenjobi centralizes her subjects in her series, Hawking Heroes, with her significant use of textured negative space, Ogunade seeks to examine temporal moments in human life in his work with his use of charcoal and acrylic. For Ogunade, home is where your problems are settled. Inspired by her childhood memories of living in Lagos, the Hawking Heroes series is Shenjobi's tribute to the women who hawk in Lagos traffic as she draws attention to the day-to-day scenarios of their lives.
Accra-based artists Cornelius Annor and Nana Bruce are investigating the contemporary ideas of love. Viewing home in the present times, Bruce, a romantic, paints his observations of the beginnings of love. Annor, known for his portrayal of the family scenes, focuses on dancing in the concept of love. While Bruce's idea of the home rests in a person as the subjects in his works are cast in intimate and tender lights, Annor's use of colorful, traditional textiles illuminates the beauty in the mundane of familial life.
Together, these artists situated in two of the most vibrant art capitals in West Africa, present a multifaceted vision of home, weaving together personal narratives and turning the lens on dynamic public spaces. Visions of Home: Lagos to Accra invites viewers to be a part of the dialogue between these two cities.
