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The just ended
exhibition, ‘Clockmania’, showcased an Aladdin’s Cave worth of novelty
timepieces to the general public. Organised by The Multicolour, an
interior design outfit based in Lagos, the exhibition’s opening took
place at The Place in Ikeja GRA, Lagos, on August 8. Nearly 40 people
braved the heavy rains on the day to attended the opening.

In her opening
remarks, the organiser of ‘Clockmania’, Adebusola Akinnubi, expressed
her appreciation to guests who made time out of their busy schedules to
attend the exhibition. Hinting at her motivation for the show, she
said, “I want to give people variety of clocks in their homes and
offices, to beautify homes, offices with unique clocks.”

Multicolours, which
has been delivering uniquely designed clocks to clients, decided to
make it a public business, and the best way to signal this was through
the ‘Clockmania’ exhibition.

Akinnubi used the
occasion to stress the need for Nigerians to pay better attention to
time and time-keeping. “When invited to any occasion, people arrive an
hour late for the event, which is not helping us at all in this
society. I do not believe in ‘African Time’ the way it is said in
Nigeria today. With this exhibition, I hope to encourage Nigerians to
be time-conscious in the society and in their everyday life.”

A ten percent
discount was on offer on all clocks sold during the exhibition. The
CEO- turned-curator, Akinnubi, informed that, “We have over 100
varieties of clocks. From small table clocks to wall clocks and floor
clocks such as grandfather clocks, which are not what people are used
to seeing every day.”

Guests viewed the
clocks on display and many marvelled at the designs, some ornate, some
playfully quirky, while others are fashioned after themes likes sports.
One guest who decided to purchase one piece, Chuks Ibeh, said, “I read
(about) this online and was moved to come to this exhibition. I love
lovely clocks in my house, and hope this continues in Nigeria.”

Akinnubi has
promised to make the exhibition an annual event. Having established a
‘clock house’ in order to provide people with beautiful pieces, the
Computer Science graduate of the University of Ilorin spoke about her
“passion for clocks”.

She declared herself encouraged by the public interest shown in the
exhibition, and the attendance. During discussions at the opening
event, it emerged that the clocks are largely imported from Switzerland
and other places. Perhaps by the time of subsequent editions, the
efforts of The Multicolour and Akinnubi would have helped to stimulate
the production of similar clock design artistry locally, thereby adding
to the variety on of pieces on offer.