Tate Modern’s ‘Nigerian Modernism’ aims to disrupt the way we think about art history – not just in Africa, but globally. Curator Osei Bonsu said the 300 artworks in the exhibition showcase the work of 59 artists spanning 50 years and “make Nigerian identity more open and complex”. He described the exhibition as a “real-time cultural restoration” as Nigerian modernism was “relegated to a modernist footnote”. The show corrects this oversight.
Nigeria was a British colony from 1914 to 1960, and exhibitions extend to both ends of that period until the 1990s. The artists grappled with the influence of Eurocentrism throughout, a sense of pain felt in Picasso’s appropriation of African masks and a broadly reductive view of African art as ethnography. Ultimately, despite colonial rule, Pan-African pride and supralocal communities persisted.
The first room features portraits, including Aina Onabolu’s depictions of Lagos society figures. his 1955 African man portrait Depicts a Yoruba gentleman in elegant agbada; across the room, Akinola Lasekan’s 1957 Portrait of Chief JD Akeredolu Representing the artist of the same name wearing the same type of clothing. Akeredolu’s thorn carvings, in turn, are displayed in a glass case in the center of the room. Equally fascinating are reproductions of Akinola Lakesan’s political cartoons, which make dark “jokes” on regionalism and tribalism. In the next room, Ben Enwonwu’s paintings of dancing girls and stately men—in an academic realist style—contrast with his seven Igbo-influenced wood sculptures that bisect the room.
Nigeria’s newfound independence has inspired arts groups to reorganize arts education with indigenous representation in mind. The Zaria Arts Society in the north-west of the country opposed a Eurocentric curriculum; the magazine Black Orpheus was a product of this thinking, displaying brightly colored covers filled with articles and literary criticism that reflected what Bonsu calls a “polyphonic network”. The journals are surrounded by works including: a 1982 screen print by Emmanuel Okechukwu Odita that transforms the drapery of traditional clothing into abstract forms against a deep yellow and green background, a 1962 work by Jimo Akolo Fulani Cavalry Three figures ride on green, pink, red and blue horse companions, while Yusuf Grillo’s moody, ethereal and magnetic oil paint in deep indigo rides a female figure. Nearby is Bruce Onobrakpeya’s Fourteen Stations of the Crossis a 1969 linoleum triptych surrounded by 14 engravings depicting Christ’s crucifixion to burial in Yoruba architectural motifs. Onobrakpeya, 93, attended the press conference in good condition.
A room dedicated to Eko, the pre-colonial name for Lagos, displays an incredible series of photographs taken by JD ‘Okhai Ojeikere in the 1970s: he produced around 1,000 designs of women’s hair against white backgrounds, all in sculptural shapes. There are also vinyl record sleeves from Nigeria’s high society—a musical genre that blended Latin, European and African traditions in the 1950s and 1960s—featuring primarily the work of Rex Lawson, as well as images of tropical modernist-style patterned buildings (Kingsway Stores, the offices of a shipping company) created by [non-Nigerian] Architects James Cubitt and TP Bennett.
In his exploration of the Osho Erudite School, Bonsu noted the “marginalization of those who had no artistic education” and that these artists did not receive this education. Viewers will see colorful embroideries by Nike Davies-Okundaye, intricate beadwork by Jimoh Buraimoh (alluding to Yoruba ceremonial cloaks), and intricate ink paintings by Twins Seven Seven, depicting fantastical spirits and ghosts from Yoruba mythology.
The exhibition also focuses on “uli”, a painting tradition from southeastern Nigeria based on natural forms historically passed down between women during this period. Uche Okeke 1961 Anna Mumo [Land of the Dead] The use of bright colors such as yellow, orange and red to evoke the spirits of the Igbo people was considered prescient to the toll caused by the outbreak of Nigeria’s civil war six years later in 1967. Obiora Udechukwu’s 1970s ink line drawings are minimalist, including one depicting the face of a woman with pursed lips, a nose ring and squinting eyes, but four of his 1993 works, our journey Made with ink and acrylic, it’s more epic and vibrant, unfolding into a long yellow swirl. The piece sits alongside wood sculptures decorated by Ghanaian-born El Anatsui, who has taught at the University of Nigeria in Nsukka since 1975.
The final room of the exhibition is dedicated to Uzo Egonu, a bold graphic painter who lived in Britain from the 1940s until his death. He blended European modernism with Igbo sculpture, creating a figurative/abstract hybrid. Beyond peaceful scenes of a woman reading or two friends braiding their hair, Egonou’s “Stateless Man” paintings (a musician, an artist, a writer) are reunited here for the first time in forty years.
in novels Every day is a thief’s dayNigerian-American author Teju Cole describes the protagonist’s joy at discovering a music and bookstore while visiting Nigeria. As he browsed its offerings, he thought, “There’s really just one word for how I feel about these new contributions to the Lagos scene: grateful. Still, these ideas keep coming; they’re vital because they’re signs of hope in a place that, like every other place on this finite planet, needs hope.” The same goes for this exhibition.
