At Alexis Galleries, young artists, push boundaries, Mirrors Our Time

YOUNG artists are often at the forefront of pushing artistic boundaries, exploring new mediums and techniques to accurately portray the complexity of their time.

By reminiscing on their times, they are able to revisit cherished memories, relive moments of joy and happiness, and gain a deeper appreciation for the experiences that have shaped humanity.

In the exhibition, Mirrors Of Our Time, currently showing at Alexis Galleries, Lagos, nine young artists mirror their time, reflecting basically, the social, political, cultural, and technological issues prevalent in the society they are living. Acting like a mirror to the current zeitgeist, they capture the anxieties, trends, and experiences unique to their generation. The exhibition opened on November 16 and runs till November 30, 2024.

The exhibition features recent works by these interdisciplinary artists, whose experimental spirit, boldness and humongous works intrigue. The artists are Arinze Stanley, Jacqueline Suowari, Ayogu Kingsley, Oliver Okolo, David Kaydee Otaru, Oscar Ukonu, Chukwuebuka Chukwuemeka, Olawale Moses and Celesta Jonah.

Deploying varying techniques, from figurative paintings to hyperrealism and inventive use of charcoal, ballpoint and mixed media collage, among others, they interrogated Mirrors Of Our Time.
In her gallery statement, founder, Alexis Galleries, Patty Chidiac Mastrogiannis, expressed excitement at working with the nine young artists in the show, which she described as “a refreshing group show featuring recent works by the young talents.”

Describing them as leading interdisciplinary artists, she commended the artists for their bold, insightful understanding of the theme. According to her, the show is worth seeing because of the ability of the artists to work with diverse approaches, different media and style in painting, including hyperrealism, ballpen, mixed media collage, and chiaroscuro.

“Through their reflective yet breathtaking works, these artists examine and reflect upon our multifaceted, collective lived reality, exploring the sociological threads and frameworks—sometimes strictures that bind us, often rubbing off and shaking the very core of our human experience,” Mastrogiannis remarked.

In his curatorial statement, Uche Obasi, said Mirrors Of Our Time “a visual narrative and reflection that captures a myriad of evocative yet intimate issues on our shared collective identity and reality. It explores the unspoken burden, the unchecked demands, and the pressures lying present in our world.”

While referencing the show as one which deepens understanding of the world and time interrogated by external realities, Obasi noted that the show connects viewers to their world and issues that confront them.

Suowari, known for her large scale ballpoint pen drawings (said to be the largest in Africa) brings Idia’s Son and Sunset in Banana Island to the show. To capture this properly, she plays on human hair, which she likes to explore.

To Suowari, each idea is a reinvention and manifestation of intricate ballpoint pen strokes on paper, a signature technique that dominates her artistic expression.

For Ukonu, his three works, The Disinformation of a Republic 8, Face Value and Coronation II – all made using ballpoint pen on paper – tackle the problem of information overload in the new media. With the series, Ukonu says he tries to show that the media content currently consumed affect identity. With the new media, “we are consuming a lot without anyone sticking,” he says.

Arinze brings works such as Fruits of Labour, Communion, Portrait of Resilience 5, and Under The Influence. He says Fruits of Labour alludes to “the struggles we, the youths in Nigeria, have to go through using very limited resources (without access to the wealth of the land) to achieve great things… even as we are surrounded by abundant wealth, and oil that comes out from our ground.”

The work highlights a girl holding a piece of foam, which she uses to break palm kernels amid the abundant natural resources under her feet.

Ayogu is popular within the contemporary art sphere for his hyper-realistic portraits, primarily done with oil. Through his work, titled, Innocence, he addresses the problem of loss of innocence of children who are exposed to negative multimedia contents on social media.

“It’s like a metaphor (exploring) how to preserve the innocence of this coming generation,” he says, pointing to the recent Equatorial Guinea sex scandal as example. Ayogu reveals that in Equatorial Guinea and the world over, lewd videos went viral on the social media, becoming accessible even to under-aged children. The second work by Ayogu is titled, Personal Legend.

Otaru brings to the show, Growing up fast 2, which depicts some young persons in translucent colours of ghostly figures, and a part of the popular Lagos commuter yellow bus called ‘danfo’ at the background. To achieve his vision for the work, he merges traditional art with technology. His other works for the show are Guy-Man, In My Papa’s Cap and A Cup of Snooze.

Moses uses charcoal and graphite in his works to mirror how cultural tradition and modernity exist side by side in today’s world. Omidan, he says, “represents the strength, grace, and quiet resilience of young women in Yoruba culture.” His other works are Whispers of Reflection and Lightplay Portrait III.

Celesta treats the theme of unfair society’s expectations of masculinity. In her series, Boys Don’t Cry (I-III), she interrogates the societal expectation that men and boys should suppress their emotions because they ought to be strong.

Chukwuemeka’s brings five works: Odumodu, Gentle Men, Lady Grace, Lady Vanessa and Lady Martha. With his combination of charcoal, pastel, and coffee, Chukwuemeka tries to recapture “the essence of time and culture, shedding light on identity, representation, and personal experience.”
Okolo’s works at the show are titled, Violet Dreams in a Golden Shell, Untethered (all oil and charcoal on paper) and The Sitter’s (oil on canvas).
The show is supported by The Macallan, Coca Cola, Mikano, Art Cafe, Bombay Sapphire, The Guardian, Tiger, UPS, Aina Blankson Global, Haier Thermocool, Nigeria Info, Cobranet, Berol and Schweppes.