The Kokopelli Gallery has announced Two Brothers and One Lumbo, a social political themed art exhibition featuring works by 10 Nigerian contemporary artists.
According to the gallery, the exhibition will run from Friday 5th August to Sunday 7th August 2022 with an opening reception on Friday from 4 pm to 9 pm followed by a Conversation with Veteran Burns Effiom, Ola Dada, Tobi Ibiwoye and the Artists on Saturday 6th, discussing Art, the Blockchain technology and it’s potential to influence social structures.
Two Brothers and One Lumbo employs a satirical tone in defining the sociopolitical climate of Nigeria as it concerns its citizens and of the upcoming general elections. It seeks to further bridge the gap between traditional art display and the evolving technology of NFTs with hopes of fostering a dialogue between these two communities thereby finding a middle ground and outlining its influence on sociopolitical issues as it concerns its audience.
This exhibition marries the display of Art in a traditional gallery with the fast evolving technology of QR Codes and how it is displayed and interacted via mobile technologies as different methods of expression. This union is the crux of the exhibition; ergo, upon acquisition of any of the exhibited NFT’s, the physical versions of the exhibits will be obtained alongside.
The selection of artworks challenge the stereotype of the Nigerian political narrative and they are recounts that revolve around evocative subjects such as bribery, police brutality, vote buying and more while taking each visitor on a journey from where we have been to our potential future.
The exhibition features 10 contemporary Artists with different techniques and a miscellany of art forms – painting, sculpture, photography, and digital art. These artists include Olubankole Olabode, Abrifor Drexx Silas, Bidemi Tata, Hossein Quadri, Ibukun Williams, Ice Nweke, Osafuwenko Tunde-Oni, Alvin Ukpeh, Seyi Ogar and Iloabuchi Netochukwu.
The assemblage depicts a strong narration of the past and current state of the country and the potential future we envision as seen in Hossein Quadri’s 3D exhibit ‘Crude Rule’ highlighting the journey we have embarked with Crude oil and the surprising turn of events attributed to that peregrination and ‘Original Gangster’ by Abrifor Silas giving a detailed narration of the many facets of our dilemma owing to the quality of leaders we have entrusted our country to; Using photography as a tool for critical assessment, Alvin Ukpeh in his piece ‘Dying Tender’ depicts the decline in the value of our currency as it applies to basic commodities. His composition paints a picture of the existence of a flawed system with regard to the current Nigerian predicament.
Osafuwenko Tunde Oni in her piece ‘E go better’ takes on a social narrative through digital collage containing pictures of past Nigerian attire, hairstyle and news reports thus inviting you to a simpler time in the Nigerian journey while hoping for a future where against all odds things will get better.
Visitors to this exhibition will find themselves immersed in a unique experience than what is commonplace in an archetypal gallery setting but more importantly they will be invested in the captivating manner the exhibits enthral the viewer.
Two Brothers and One Lumbo pays homage to the current political ecosystem where we have three major candidates as opposed to the usual two opponents from the two ruling parties in the nation. Thus, the exhibition seeks to answer the final questions of ‘How Art and Technology can be used as effective tools of influencing social change in such an environment as Nigeria where technology and art are still mostly dealt the unimportant hand’ and ‘Who are the Two Brothers and Lumbo?’
