Today, at Ford Foundation on Banana Island, Lagos, from 6pm, eight female artists will take part in an exhibition under the theme: ‘Design is the Personality of an Idea’.
Organised by the African Artists’ Foundation (AAF), the showcase will, after the opening reception today, be on till August 3.
“We are all deluded. In the most dangerous ways, the most beautiful ways and the most banal and benign ways, we all exist in a world of our own design, our own creation, our own filter. Built with our beliefs, our histories, our traumas, our consumption, our interactions, our societies, our habits, our opportunities and dreams, we design our own reality,” said a statement explaining the theme by the AAF.
The organisers further stated that art is an expression of our reality, and design is the personality of our ideas. “The artists brought together here use diverse media – film, fashion, paint, photography, digital collage and sound – to create full worlds with the precision and intentionality inherent in the concept of design.
“Yet all of us, with our unique delusions, perceptions and experiences, exist in the same physical world. The exhibition is an exploration of this kaleidoscopic amalgamation of our individualities.”
The featured artists are: Joana Choumali (Cote d’Ivoire), Nkechi Ebubedike (Nigeria-America), Akwaeke Emezi (Nigeria), Modupeola Fadugba (Nigeria) and Selly Raby Kane (Senegal). Others are: Nkiru Oparah (Nigeria) Moonchild Sanelly (South Africa) and The Venus Bushfires (Nigeria).
The artists, the AAF said, show the diversity and complexity of each of our worldviews: complete, distinct, nuanced and fantastical.
“They design and manifest their own distinct realities. The intention is to leave the viewer with no one thing to say about female African artists. The more you see, the less you know,” the organisers added.
