African summer of art... in England!
Part I - Bristol's Arnolfini
Dear readers,
As you may know, I’m now working mainly from Paris, where a smallish worldly event is currently happening… But before I came to cover parts of the party, I went around for some more travelling, to Marseille, London and a day in my lovely Bristol.
The years I spent in this city in West England were quite special, and including the Covid-19 lockdown, during which I worked as a journalism lecturer, as a podcaster and as writer in residence in a place very special to me: the Arnolfini gallery.
Every time I go back, I feel like staying for good.
This summer, my travels have interestingly led me to see wonderful exhibitions of African art, my true and deepest passion.
This path left me from South African art maker and poet Eliza Kentridge (whose work in on show at the Cecilia Brunson Project in the lovely Bermondsey), and anti-apartheid black photographer Ernest Cole (1940-1990), in London… to the great Whitechapel retrospective of the work of another South African: Gavin Jantjes, born in Cape Town in 1948 and later exiled in Germany then England.
I even learned then how Gavin got to come to Bristol and learn about the story of the Colston statue… at the city’ international art venue: Arnolfini…
More on these shows and artists soon!
But first, in Bristol for only a few hours, I spent 55 minutes with two mesmerising shows, which brought me to another part of Africa: Nigeria.
NB. All photos by myself…
Bristol’s Arnolfini honours Nigerian artists
At Arnolfini, two exhibitions highlight the work of two different Nigerian painters: Nengi Omuku and Adébayo Bolaji, on view until 29 September.
The Dance of People and the Natural World
On the first floor of the venue I now know so well, you can admire the beautiful and colourful landscapes by Nigerian artist Nengi Omuku, with the exhibition titled The Dance of People and the Natural World.
What surprises right away in front on Nengi’s paintings are not only the colours, bright though soft, but the textures. The landscapes and figures are painting on special pieces of clothes, that made me think of both bamboo or beddings…
Some of the pieces are also suspended from ceilings, and moving slightly, as if they were just made… Which brings a touch of magic to already very sensible representations of nature-infused scenes.
The figures seem to live or at least come out of idyllic garden scene, which resonates so much with my ever-growing need for more nature, in the city, and everywhere…
Of course, they made this French mind think of Claude Monet and his famous waterlilies… And I read the artist was actually inspired by the French impressionist painter. But she was also working with memories of her mother’s garden in mind, and “imagined realms where flora and fauna take on fantastical forms”.
“Omuku’s human figures blend seamlessly with nature, exploring the relationship between individual and collective thought, belonging, and psychological spaces that transcend traditional Western landscape painting,” the curators wrote.
The display features notably the large work Eden and very new works such as Quorum and Rumours of War, bringing together some of the artist’s pieces first shown at Hastings Contemporary in 2023.
The series indeed focuses on a sense of re-immersion in nature, as Omuku herself explained: “This comes from both a personal place, telling my story as a gardener and florist”, and “re-communion with nature today.”
What an appeasing way to spend a few moments of this summer of utter disruption…
“Omuku’s rich, dreamlike colour palette is heavily influenced by the muted tones of Sanyan, a pre-colonial Nigerian textile woven from moth silk and cotton, blending Western oil painting traditions with Nigeria’s textile craftsmanship,” the curators added.
Born in 1987 in Nigeria, Nengi Omuku still lives and works in the largest city, Lagos, after studying in the UK: she received a BA in 2010 and a MA in 2012 from the Slade School of Art, University College London.
Her work is also currently shown in ‘Exchanges’, a collection presentation at the Whitworth, Manchester (until 24 November) and in ‘Soulscapes’ at Dulwich Picture Gallery, in London.
To see the exhibition in Bristol, all the details here: https://arnolfini.org.uk/whatson/nengiomuku/
In Praise of Beauty
On the second floor of the venue, we are introduced to the world of Adébayo Bolaji, a multi-disciplinary artist of Yoruba origins (from Nigeria), living and working in London, England.
At the centre of his practice is “the dialogue of change and the focus of the individual within a connecting society”.
This exhibition questions the very purpose, forms and definition of beauty itself, beauty standards and with them artistic norms.
Mixing drawing, sounds, sculptures, mixed media, paintings and films, the artist is visibly exploring and questioning notions of beauty through different forms, including writing and recording.
“Beauty, in one sense, is a narrative, an experience, and a value so powerful that it can transform even the most powerful among us into the weakest in a moment,” Adébayo Bolaji wrote. '“In Praise of Beauty is creative questioning, a deliberate act of bringing beauty into focus, and an opportunity to explore, discover, and rediscover its essence.”
References to the African continent just jumped at me. In the same way, the use of letters, words, writing in his painting reminded me and, I’m sure, many others, of Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Using primary and bright colours, vivid reds, yellows and blues, and angular forms, his artworks seem to move toward us with punch, energy and like a procession, including names of places and slogans.
I could feel that one of the artist’s preoccupations was also to “rewrite some cultural narratives”, or am I just quoting myself here?
He still delivers some messages about the way Africa has been seen and depicted for decades…
“Avoiding ourselves, being able to confront who we are can be hard,” Bolaji wrote. “So, it can therefore be easier to throw oneself into a cause – and I think this would also easier to also talk about as an artist. On the face of it, this is admirable but makes for an interesting exploration when it is done at the expense of truly avoiding who one truly is… And so my work is about us, it is about facing who we are.”
In Praise of Beauty was originated at New Art Exchange, Nottingham.
To see it in Bristol, check this link:
https://arnolfini.org.uk/whatson/adebayobolaji/
Before I left… I had an hour to go back to one of my old neighbourhoods… to visit an exhibition I had thought I’d never see…
Spike Island: Donald Rodney - Visceral Canker
When writing and doing research for Arnolfini, I read a lot about the artistic journey of Donald Rodney, who passed away way too young, in 1999, at only 37 years old.
His work is not for the fainted hearts, and spoke truth to power.
The exhibition brings together all of Rodney’s surviving works... Including large-scale oil pastels on X-rays, kinetic and animatronic sculptures, restaged installations, sketchbooks and rare archive materials, spanning 1982 to 1997.
I may have to write about it further in another post…
For now, check the details here: https://www.spikeisland.org.uk/programme/exhibitions/donald-rodney/
Thanks for reading as always, and speak again soon for more artistic ventures…
best,
melissa
Melissa Chemam
Journalist, Audio Producer & Writer
@ RFI English, New Arab, ART UK, the i paper, Byline Times...
Check my blog please here: https://melissa-on-the-road.blogspot.com/
And my YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXE4ofFjz0lsRzemjdmFf7w