The recent video art exhibition at the Rele Gallery in Lagos from November 22 to 29 was as fascinating as it was soul-searching. Titled ‘Watch Yourself’, it was a spectacle to behold with works from Nigerian artists and their foreign counterparts.
The showcase, which was a partnership event between David Dale Gallery and Video Art Network Lagos (VAN Lagos), featured artists like Rachel Maclean, Jack Saunders, Dominic Watson and Zoe Williams. There were also works from Jude Anogwih, Adebukola Bodunrin, Oyindamola Fakeye, Wura-Natasha Ogunji, Emeka Ogboh and Uche Okpa-Iroha.
Watching the videos on display, which Anogwih said formed part of the British Council’s UK/Nigeria 2015-2016 season and the second in a series of collaboration between the earlier mentioned partners, it was clear that video art has come a long way in the country. This is definitely the result of a sustained effort to keep the art form in the face of not just the art community in the country but also all Nigerians over the years. And in January 2016, VAN Lagos will continue to create awareness by training its members and those interested to learn the art, said Anogwih.
The themes explored by the Nigerians whose works were on display under the ‘Owambe’ banner were as uniquely Nigerian as they were universal. Take for instance Anogwih’s ‘Apekanuko’ (2014) based on the concept of merriment and its relationship to capitalism, plutocracy and aristocracy, which punches with the power of a commercial but leaves a lingering message that resonates. The message is the same in the other videos, which many will agree explore a simple concept in the portrayal of the complexities of the human experience. In Fakaye’s ‘Party Games’ (2014) is to be found party-goers decked in the popular aso ebi (the uniform chosen by the celebrant) but engaged in a game popular with children as they exchange goody bags. What each one finds in a bag is his or her lot, very much like the game of life, of chance.
Ogunji’s ‘I Heard and I branched myself into the party’ is reminiscent of the boisterous Lagos parties that are filled with crashers, who may not have invitations but nevertheless attend such elaborate parties not wanting to be left out of the fun of it all. It is the same theme that resonates in Bodunrin’s ‘Gather and Listen’ (2014), Ogboh’s ‘Iyanga’ (2014), and Okpa-Iroha’s ‘Scavengers Alkaline Wash’ (2014). Life is after all a party and only those who dare can present themselves, invited or not, as it is the case at a Nigerian Owambe.
Then there are the videos from beyond Nigeria’s shores which scream even louder than the Owambe ones. The party is different, yet the same. It is still about the individual and if one listens carefully, the cry of the philosopher; man, know thyself, resonates through the ages. Of particular note is Rachel Maclean’s ‘Over the Rainbow’ (2013). The 42-minute digital video commissioned by The Banff Centre, Canada, as part of a six-month Scottish Arts Council Residency, is inspired by the technicolour utopias of children’s television.
It is hard to not stand and stare at the colourful and engaging video. And it is not just that the viewer sees his or herself in the canvass of colours, it is the master mix of the said colour, narrative and action that draws one in. What is more, watching it even in a loop fails to bore very much like being at a party. The one thread that runs through this video and the others on display during the exhibition is the makings of not just masterpieces but also classic quality about them.
Indeed, in Dominic Watson’s ‘Protein Discourse’ the central character of the video does nothing exuding a lazy quality, but it is hard to walk away. Decked in track suit, the character’s lacklustre movements or lack of the same is a draw to the viewer who is waiting to see something happen perhaps in the next slide. But that is not the case. And like in all of the videos, this is a mirror image of the viewer.
But perhaps the loudest of them all is Zoe Williams ‘Fleece II Taste’, which follows in the artist’s tradition of dwelling on the politics of sex. In this video, an edit of a longer work, the body and surface are manipulated and confused through their depiction at close quarters in order to create a mergence or cross contamination between silk, skin, fur and precious gems. And how that works seductive wonders in the viewer. This is to be seen to be believed.
Hopefully, VAN Lagos will bring this exhibition back for the sake of the multitudes that missed it, so that they can get this once-in-a-lifetime experience in the immersion of self.