The exhibition, Home: The Origin of All Poems, was divided into two rooms at JK Randle Center for better viewing. Ayo Oshodi, the curator of ArtForm Africa, positioned the presentation so that figurative works from Omolola Coker and Afeez Onakoya welcome you into the space first.
What does home mean to the artists in this exhibition? How does home shape identity?
In this exhibition, four Nigerian artists – Omolola Coker, Segun Okewumi, Afeez Onakoya, and Osa Seven- have varied ideas of home. Experimenting with new forms and mediums, these artists explore the subject of home from different points of view – as a refuge, a source of inspiration, a complex story woven with love, loss, and everything in between -, they all seem to border on the human desire: belonging.
The vulnerability and rest that Omolola Coker’s works evoke with her portraits of recuperating women signal a different idea of belonging. Coker’s exploration of the subject is different and it goes beyond home simply being the origin of all poems as the women in her paintings return to themselves right before our eyes. Whether they’re savoring a glass of red wine while lounging on the sofa like in “Loose”; being held by one another like in “Comfort” and “Pillar”; or taking a much-deserved nap like in “Dream State,” it is hard to not share in the repose of Coker’s female subjects. Omolola Coker’s warm and calming tones of blue and brown lend to the dreamscape effect.
“Omolola explores the concept of home as a return to one’s authentic self, enveloped by the familiar and familial, with rich symbolic affirmations. Her art is a testament to the idea that home is more than brick and mortar, the truest sense of home is that which resides within us – for her, it is a fortress of independence forged by the legacy of all the women before her, serving as a pillar of strength.”
For Coker and others, home is where you go to recover, to begin again; where you let your hair down; where you meet who you are again. Afeez Onakoya explores the different kinds of connections that often feel like home. His paintings seek to weigh in on the intimacy between siblings, friends, lovers, and, most importantly, oneself.
Osa Seven and Segun Okewunmi are equally talented artists in this exhibition. In their exploration of home, Osa Seven focuses on culture and community, while Segun Okewunmi’s sculptures take the shape of a mother’s arms. This goes on to show that home is where healing takes place. It is where you are held.
