A Selfie in Time

Halfway through the boring bits at my EKO Hotel wedding last Saturday, I stepped to the lobby and by chance came across this photography exhibit sponsored by Etisalat. I was just thrilled to bits. My first wedding and my first exhibit, on the same night?! Shaping up to be a rather awesome evening. The positivity from the wedding flowed into my day.

The event, as expected, attracted a lot of "foreign" blood. The artists featured were also international, so of course such an upscale invite would reach out and appeal to them. I expected the art to be a bit demure and culturally authentic but to my dismay it was actually socially relevant and modern. There was even a Selfie competition and the 3 winners who were all fabulous were featured on the walls. 

Since I had stealthily stepped into their domain from my main event (wedding) I had very little time to spend with the art. Trust me, I just wanted to be enveloped in their presence. I was just so bummed I didn't know about it sooner, I could have spared myself some boring wedding speeches by just escaping into the photography. You all know how I feel about photos. 

There was one piece that spoke to me from a female artist. The passage that explained the artist's motivation and the haunting evocative (self!) portraits resonated with me so much that I just had to share. The artist pushed the (African) envelope by featuring herself in her most vulnerable state, and it wasn't self-deprecating, self-indulgent or gratuitous nudity. It was just a selfless, imaginative, provocative piece of art and I completely responded to it. 

The rest of the event in the short time I was there was well organized, modern and edgy, with the right type of crowd to give it a little oomph. I was so impressed with my home country. I added my name to their mailing list hoping to be informed of future events. If they boast of such cutting edge talent, bring it on.

Just Read This!

Everything about this passage that describes the Masked Woman pieces fully expresses the theme of this blog, of my life, of my journey.

"The Images Portray The Solitary Lifestyle of the "Super Femme-Fatale" Character choosing to achieve pleasure and contentment through self fulfillment that is not dictated by the subservient role as a house wife or defined through a man's affection."

"The series personifies a growing number of independent, professional women in Nigeria who at once assert their autonomy while also being ostracized by cultural norms."

How poignant! I was stunned as I read it. Hats Off to the Artist!

One of the Masked Woman Pieces.

Love the whimsical flavor of this piece.

This time - I'm a little "floored" by her breasts!

This is a piece I call - African Gay Parade

More fun looking breasts!

Awesome event, stimulating diverse pieces, well-organized sponsors, enlightened crowd. True pleasure to escape into all that art in my home country - good job Nigeria!