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The Nigerian-Italian art exhibition ‘Crosscurrents’ kicked off with a private preview on March 16 at the Civic Centre, Lagos. The event attracted quite a number of artists, art lovers, art patrons and curators alike who came to view artworks in different media -by ten Italian artists and ten Nigerian artists.

Oliver Enwonwu, Chair of the Lagos chapter of the Society of Nigerian Artists (SNA) and one of the exhibiting artists as well as a coordinator of the exhibition, in a brief address described the event as momentous. He added that the exhibition tackles ‘identity and self discovery’.

The exhibition took up two floors at the venue and a few of the exhibiting ten from Nigeria were present. Though none of the Italian ten – Matteo Basile, Angelo Bellobono, Filippo Centenari, Francesco Cervelli, Alberto Di Fabio, Stefania Fabrizi, Omar Galliani, Jonathan Guaitamacchi, Adriano Nardi and Eron Salvadei – were present, their works caused quite a stir.

The Nigerian ten: Kolade Oshinowo, Uche Edochie, Oliver Enwonwu, Rom Isichei, Uche James-Iroha, Chidi Kwubiri, Alex Nwokolo-, Abiodun Olaku, Mudi Yahaya and Peju Alatise, were not left out.

Peju Alatise

For Peju Alatise, the only female in the group, her works, done in mixed media, were arresting as they came out in bold colours of yellow, red and orange. Some of the artworks featured raised images of the female anatomy.

‘Lest I Forget’, one of the female anatomy works, was done in acrylic while the most interesting piece, ‘One Side of the Story’ – also in the same mould – was rendered with newspaper, resin and acrylic on canvas.

On the reason behind the motif of the female human body, the artist likened the three Artworks to the misrepresentation of women in general. “It’s the story of the woman from the way the press sees it,” she explained.

“It’s about how the media perceives you, how people perceive you. Sometimes it’s a distortion, that’s why the figure in the work is distorted,” Alatise added.

She said, “I’ve always done works about women”. The artist, who revealed that her works reflect political and philosophical issues, also declared that if the definition of feminism is equal rights for women then she is glad to be called one.

The artist initially trained as an architect and her works easily reflect that. “I am excited that I’m a part of this exhibition and I’m glad that I am representing female artists and Nigerian artists,” she said.

Alex Nwokolo

Another participating artist, Alex Nwokolo, concerning his works on display, revealed that he uses newspapers in his media. “I use it as texture for my work. It gives it a feeling you don’t see regularly”, Nwokolo disclosed.

One of his pieces ‘Special One III’ with media newsprint, acrylic and stencil on canvas, revealed this style. ‘Special One III’ with its newsprint background depicts a crowd of people with one distinct individual.

According to Nwokolo, the work reinforces the saying that ‘many are called but few are chosen’. Nwokolo’s ‘Moment of Reflection’ gives off political undertones especially the upcoming elections.

Nwokolo was not the only artist addressing political and nation-building issues. Oliver Enwonwu’s massive oil painting, ‘Broken Flight’ with its shadowy colours and the haunting image of a winged female figure with a wing chipped off, also raises questions about the future of Nigeria.

“Broken Flight is symbolic of our struggle as a people in finding an identity”, Enwonwu revealed. “The figure is regal showing that we possess talent and potential but the broken wing reflects our struggle to find an identity,” he added.The artist also had other works on display.

The Italians

The works by the Italian artists came with their own interesting features. Filippo Centenari’s ‘Dubai 03′ an iridescent image of a skyscraper, done with Lambda print on dibond and plexiglass, reflects his style which usually embodies metropolis themes with a special light technique.

Omar Galliani’s ‘Grande Disegno Siamese’ and ‘Nuovi Santi’, both black pencil on wood, illustrate the face of a woman. In the artist’s works, ‘the human world and the sphere of the transcendent inch closer to each other until they touch in a connection that is deep and obscure’.

Artist Mufu Onifade of ‘Araism’ fame expressed his views about the exhibition, saying, “I think it’s a very good show with good space. This is the first time we are exposed to this kind of venue,” he said.

He added that it was sad that the exhibition would be on for only two days, as it was something worth having on for as long as 6 months. However he said that, “the joy is that a space has been discovered now,”

“The quality of work on display shows the level of the creativity of the artists involved”, Onifade stated. “If you go to Europe contemporary art has so many faces now. These Italian artists are serious minded. They are contemporary artists who have taken aesthetics to a different level,” he said.

He added that, “in spite of the militating influences of world contemporary art which gives room for visual art to dissipate, these Italian artists still maintain the vitality of creativity.”