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For the second year
running, works by Nigerian and Cameroonian artists were on display at
The Last Pictures Show, organised by Catherine Pittet’s company,
Gondwana.

The five-day
exhibition kicked off on October 29 with a cocktail at Terra Kulture,
venue of the show. This was the seventh edition of the yearly event,
which had run its first five exhibitions solely in Cameroon.

Present at the opener were artists Ndidi Dike, Alex Nwokolo, Jean-Marie Ahonda and Terra Kulture’s Bolanle Austen-Peters.

The exhibition
opened to the public a day after. On display were works of various
media from 55 artists including Nigeria’s Richmond Ogolo, Duke Asidere,
Babalola Lawson, Fidelis Odogwu, George Edozie, Kehinde Balogun and
Cameroonian artists Elolongue Weti, Bekoun Calaudee François, Louis
Epee, He Zoul, Guillaume Makani, Francis Budin, and Maurice Tchinda
Tchim.

The works shown

For lovers of art, it was a mixed grill of the abstract and the realist, ranging across various media.

These included
works in acrylic on canvas by Bob-Nosa Uwagboe and Aser Kash, metal
sculptures by Fidelis Odogwu and Agose Patrick Ighogbedhere.

Blaise Bang, Joe
Kessy and Cheupine Njoya all had mixed media pieces; and there was
photographic art from Pierre-Alain Bignalet, which captured city life
in Cameroon. Mostly untitled, one of these featured stevedores on a
boat and two women dressed in traditional attire. Rural life appeared
to be the thrust of Mathieu Mbainaissem’s works: cows grazing, corn
fields, and village men and women in trade.

Amongst other
interesting pieces was Nwokolo’s ‘Congestion.’ The piece done in oil on
canvas depicts the overcrowded state of a Lagos province. ‘Manhood,’
also by the same artist features, four young men apparently in the
nude.

Weti from Cameroon
made use of bottle tops to create captivating images; one titled ‘Le
Monde’ (The World) and another piece, ‘Unity in Diversity.’

Jean-Marie Ahanda’s
dual-purpose mixed media sculptures were also a sight to behold. Turned
right-side up, upside down, front or back, the pieces depict a mother
with a child tied to her back and a calabash on her head; or a young
maiden with a long, slender neck. Marbles and sea shells were other
components of the works. The artist also had a series of abstract
paintings on display, but the sculptures stood out.

At the heart of
Emmanuel Ekong Ekefrey’s art was both modern and traditional African
existence. One of his works, ‘Molue Bus’, portrays the Lagos city bus
in its usual overloaded state. Bodies dangle from the windows and faces
peep out through the fender. In the midst of the chaos, one passenger
can be seen brandishing the Benin traditional sword. Birds and giraffes
were the focus of Sabastiene Berenyny’s animal-themed paintings.

Catherine Pittet

According to the
organiser Pittet, her outfit and the featured artists were satisfied
with this edition of the exhibition, which closed on November 2.

“We are very happy
because at Terra Kulture, we had the opportunity to display most of the
works and I think everybody was very happy. It was better than my first
time in Nigeria. This is my second time presenting the works in Nigeria
and we had a better (place) to show the works,” she said.

In her words, the
sales and appreciation for Cameroonian artists was also better than the
first time, when the show took place at The Civic Centre in October
2009.

“Many people bought
(the artworks this time round). Cameroonian artists are happier this
year because last year people did not know them. (At the initial
edition) Nigerian artists were very happy in Cameroun but it was not
the same for the Camerounians in Lagos. But they are better known now
and (sales) were better.”

Consequent editions
of the show will take place for the first time in Cote d’Ivoire in
February 2011 and in Paris (for a second time) in October 2011. While
looking forward to taking it to other countries in the future, Pittet
maintains that the exhibition will keep its home in Lagos. “I think we
are coming back here because Terra Kulture has a gallery and I like to
stay where I feel good.”

Pittet feels good
enough to be grateful that support for the exhibition has grown in
Nigeria, but she hopes for a bit more. “We have small support and I
wish next year we will have more. (I hope that) people like Coca Cola,
Samsung and the telephone companies will support the exhibition.”

She believes arts
across the West Coast will receive a huge boost if funds are available
to allow more artists feature at the exhibition. Pittet is however
positive that lack of support will not dampen her spirit. “This is my
life. I am a designer. It is part of my life.”

With no preference
for any particular artist, she says her exhibitions are open to all;
either those who approach her or those she approaches. In her words,
“It’s a big family. We are all friends.”

‘The Last Pictures Show’ opened in Cameroon on November 26 and runs till December 1.