CURATORIAL STATEMENT| PREPARED FOR: NIKE ART GALLERY

EXHIBITION TITLE: LINEAGE & LEGACY

Curator: Ren Lasode

EXHIBITION CONCEPT:

A color flow-focused group exhibition spotlighting the several ways cultural expression and traditional artistic knowledge are passed down
from generations through oral history, collaborative efforts, or the guidance of elders, mentors & ancestors.

                                                                                 RATIONALE & VISION

The world intellectual property organization (WIPO) defines traditional cultural
expressions as any form of artistic expression in which traditional knowledge is reflected.
Traditional knowledge refers to knowledge, skills, and practices that are established,
maintained, and passed down from generation to generation within a community and are
frequently an integral component of that community’s cultural, artistic, and spiritual character.
Multidisciplinary art has always been a part of traditional cultural expression, inseparable from
all other aspects of life. Historically, the only formally credible knowledge-producing
institutions have been universities, government research departments, and laboratories.
However, today, an increasing number of these same institutions have come to consider art to
be a contributor to traditional knowledge & view traditional artistic knowledge production as a
form of research.
This exhibition, which consists of several artistic dialogues between Nigerian artists, their
legacies, and their inherited traditional knowledge, aims to highlight Art as a critical
knowledge system deeply rooted in the cultural traditions of indigenous communities. In
Nigeria’s art past, most Elders’ artisanal and artistic knowledge was transmitted to their
protégés who were observing, receiving instruction on technique, and then repeating, or in
many cases, as an oral tradition. Following the dawn of independence in Nigeria, artistic
foraging flourished, resulting in a multiplicity of fusions of contemporary and traditional styles
in art. We have artworks by Tola Wewe & Nike Davies- Okundaye, cousins and frequent
collaborators; the icon & living legend Bruce Onakprapeya & Tony Enebili, his very successful
protege; and finally we have the sculptors Owie Smart, Exodus Aluiya & Agustin
Obayuwana. All the artists included in this exhibition are bound by a common thread,
mentorship programs, either as benefactors or recipients; all of them have been recipients of
traditional artistic knowledge, and & all of them have contributed as creators of traditional
artistic knowledge production.
Respectful working alliances between mentors, ancestors, traditions, knowledge
production, mentees, and collaborators are essential to this relational learning process. The
function of the master is reimagined as that of a reliable guide rather than the establishment
of a hierarchical power structure. The gift of traditional artistic knowledge in these scenarios
was not just for the individual’s benefit but for the use of the whole community. While
collaborators and mentors in more conventional settings can act as guides and establish deep
bonds with students, genuine relational learning places the working alliance at the center of
the broader educational experience.
The traditional artistic knowledge and techniques that have been passed down from
generation to generation have been refined through a process of constant experimentation
over the course of many centuries. Visual & material culture that has been hand-crafted and
passed down from generation to generation, I.e, Textiles, paintings, songs, melodies, rhythms,
and dances, are all considered part of traditional cultural expression.

METHOD/APPROACH:
Using color as a tool of cohesion.

INNOVATIONS
Highlighting artworks created by mentors, mentees, relatives & collaborators, mixing several art forms
from fashion & Textiles to the fine & decorative arts.

ARTIST FEATURED:

NIKE DAVIES- OKUNDAYE:

A painter, textile artist, weaver, and embroiderer whose works are influenced by the Yoruba culture’s
traditional patterns. Her five-story gallery building in Lagos not only contains a private textile museum and
an extensive archive devoted to objects made from recycled plastic and metal, but it also serves as a
meeting ground and a safe space for a multitude of artists from different generations.
Both her great-grandmother, a weaver, adire maker, and dyer, and her father, who embroidered royal robes
for a living, were the sources of her traditional artistic knowledge, with an extensive oeuvre that includes
batik, patchwork, embroidery, and wearable editorial art jewelry, amongst others. Her subject matter is
heavily influenced by the Yoruba religion and the legends of its gods and deities passed down through the
generations. She represents the quintessential mentor & collaborator, An artist-activist who has not only
ensured the survival of the traditional adire textile but has also improved the lives of tens of thousands of
women by instructing them in its production. She established training camps and workshops in OgidiIjumu, Abuja, and Ogidi-Ogbo based on the teaching methodologies she had developed after a lifelong
process of engaging in traditional artistic knowledge production.

BRUCE ONOBRAKPEYA:

A master printmaker, painter, sculptor, poet, and pioneer in modern African art of international renown.
Having benefited from the mentorship of Ben Enwonwu, Nora Majekodunmi, and others, he continues
demonstrating the value of mentoring. He has been actively passing on traditional ancestral knowledge
and legacies to younger generations through art training sessions called Harmattan Workshops, Whose
primary objective is to revive art forms whose techniques have been almost entirely forgotten by the
current and future generations of Nigerian artists. To explore Nigerian mythology and modern life via
colourful patterns and colours, he pioneered bronzed lino relief and metal foil deep etching,
plastocast(resin) relief, plastograph, and metal and relief print only scratch the surface of the methods he
used.

TOLA WEWE:

He is a frequent collaborator and cousin of Nike Davies-Okundaye, who helped create the Ona movement
in February 1989. Scholars, critics, and working artists participated in this movement, which sought to
modernize Yoruba art and design by reimagining its traditional materials, processes, and forms. Wewe
claims that he is more of a witness than an author and that it is the ancestral spirits themselves that create
his artworks once he has communicated with them. Tola Wewe says he is just a vehicle for the spirits to use
in their work. He has three primary influences: his education at Ife, his master’s thesis on the Ijaw water
spirit mask, and the Yoruba community. The Ona symbols of his native Yoruba culture inform his aesthetic,
while the tales and legends of his heritage inform his subject matter.

TONY ENEBELI:

Enebeli is one of the most well-known printmakers in Nigeria and a student and protégé of Bruce
Onobrakpeya. His etchings depict scenery from his home state of Delta and other parts of Nigeria. In 1985,
Enebeli became an apprentice at Bruce Onobrakpeya’s workshop. He spent a number of years in
Onobrakpeya’s employ before striking out on his own in 1990. His work connects the old and new Nigerias
by reviving long-lost rituals, customs, and cultures. His primary mediums are metal foil and cast. He’s
developed his unique aesthetic by utilising these nontraditional mediums.

OWIE SMART:

Originating from Benin, Nigeria, a city with a rich history of traditional cultural expressions, known
internationally for bronze sculpture, casting and sophisticated arts and crafts.Being born into a family of
woodworkers and wood carvers offered him early access to traditional artistic knowledge and the
opportunity to practise wood carving. Even before he finished high school in Benin, he had established
himself as a master woodcarver. The great wood carvers of his time, such as Uyi Obaseki and the Late
Sculptor Ifionayi, gave him the opportunity to broaden his artistic horizons. In 2004, he became a member
of the Universal Studio of Art, one of the oldest studio organisations in the Nigerian visual arts profession,
where he was taught by illustrious artists such as Bisi Fakeye and Monday Akhidue.

EXODUS ALUIYA:

A sculptor who is well known and has received praise on both a national and international level. 1997
was the year that Exodus first encountered the work of the late David Omohinmin, a well-known sculptor
in Benin City. Omohinmin’s sculptures so inspired Exodus that he decided to apprentice himself to the
artist and picked him as his mentor. Fiber filler and bronze are his two mediums of choice, and through
them, he investigates the ways of life of ancient people and their cultural expression.

OSAGUMWENRO SEGUN EKHASE:

Sculpture-focused Visual Artist with studio training. Born in Benin City, Edo state, Nigeria, into a family
of wood carvers and trained predominantly by his father, he began carving at the age of twelve. After
completing his secondary education, he pursued additional training and worked with various
professionals in the art industry, both domestically and abroad.

VIEWER EXPERIENCE:

Location: Lagos Continental Hotel
Didactic text explaining textiles, symbols & artworks.
Exhibition Catalog
Aesthetic & thought-provoking Title Wall & End Wall that leaves viewers with questions or more insight about
the exhibit.
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Themes
Shared knowledge
Color flow
Collaboration
Traditional & Ancestral knowledge
Legacy
Knowing
Fine & Decorative arts
Chosen family & lineage
Knowledge production
Traditional cultural expression