Yesterday, Alexis Galleries, on Akin Olugbade Street, Victoria Island, Lagos, hosted stakeholders in the business of art, as Ikechukwu Ezeigwe’s Monkey Business opened in the facility. The show ends on May 4.

Monkey Business is an intriguing collection of paintings that addresses views on the world around. The solo show features 12 paintings.

One of the paintings, titled, Loot, represents the plundering of African heritage and resource by foreign nations. The painting portrays a greedy-looking colonial official celebrate looted African artefacts in an undignifying manner. The painting doesn’t just capture the loot, but also the repatriation of the artefacts.

Another work, titled, Sinister Agenda, describes the two global pandemics the world experienced – the Spanish Flu (1918) and the COVID-19 (2020) – all with humans painted with heads of different animals.

The painting interrogates the two global pandemics. It depicts the two eras, with background prints pointing out the controversial stories behind the facts around it. The painting figuratively represents the two eras, with background text simplifying its meaning.

In The Test of a Man, the artist depicts an altered depiction of ‘Napoleon Crossing the Alps’, which represents and points out how a single decision by those in power can determine future occurrences for its people.

The artist, who was part of ‘Fate III’ group show organised by the gallery, believes these works will stimulate imagination, change narratives, and most importantly, create awareness.

Director of Alexies Galleries, Mrs. Patty Mastrogiannis, while saying she is looking forward to a sellout and successful show, said, Ezeigwe’s paintings are fun works for collectors. The animals painted by Ezeigwe are endangered animals not guilty of crimes against humanity.

“He is a young artist with a lot of potential. We did a group show with him in 2022 and he sold out. So, I decided to give him a solo. We want to showcase him to the world.”

According to Adebimpe Owoyemi, curator of the show, “the inclusion of important social issues, politics, societal ills, and economic subjects in art, is what gives it a sense of relevance. Works that challenge societal norms and expectations are created to go beyond aesthetics. Visually representing and addressing controversial issues with intriguing compositions and zoomorphic-like concepts is what Ezeigwe has portrayed in Monkey Business.”

Owoyemi added, “Ezeigwe is keen on attributing animalistic character (which can represent positive or negative visualisation) to humans. He believes that there are lots of commonalities that connect humans and animals and that it will be unconventional to represent the true character of his figures in a matter glaring to all.”

Owoyemi said these works would stimulate imagination, change narratives, and most importantly, create awareness of issues we disregard. Read through the lines, colours, and concept of representation.

“I use zoomorphic paintings to describe human characteristics and behaviours,” he said. “Many people know me for it. I have carved a niche with it, though I don’t limit myself to this form of art alone.”

Ezeigwe’s burgeoning craft exemplified broader sensibility. He believed that there were lots of commonalities connecting humans and animals, and it would be unconventional to represent the true character of his figures in a matter glaring to all.

“They didn’t do anything, so, I wonder why people want them to go extinct,” he said.

He described ‘The Business of War’ “as the economic dimension of war and how arms selling profit during the war, how they try to instigate war just so they can sell arms and weapons across nations.”

According to him, “the painting is the reason behind others… power, ambition, control. They are not inherently bad but when it’s in the wrong hands, they could cause a lot of trouble. The painting is an altered depiction of ‘Napoleon Crossing the Alps’ which represents and points out how a single decision by those in power can determine future occurrences for its people.”

Ezeigwe, who studied Fine Art, first at Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education (now Lagos State University of Education) and later at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, is a prolific painter who carved a niche for himself by adopting as his style, the use of heads of animals to represent the characters of the human beings he paints.

The exhibition is sponsored by Coca Cola, Maccalan, Bombay Sappire, Mikano, Art-Cafe, Tiger, UPS, AINA, Blankson Global, The Guardian, Berol, Schweppes, Heir Thermocouple, Nigeria Info 99.3fm and Covranet.