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What remains when life is broken into pieces? For four contemporary Nigerian artists, the answer lies not in searching for what has been lost, but in examining the fragments that remain and discovering the stories they carry.
This idea takes centre stage at Alexis Galleries’ forthcoming group exhibition, Fragments of Existence, which brings together Ebuka Anyiam, Celesta Jonah, Idris Olabode Opeyemi and Okediji Femi. The exhibition, scheduled to commence from September 19 to October 3, 2026, explores identity, memory, experience and material existence through painting, sculpture and abstraction.
Curated by Uche Obasi, the exhibition challenges the conventional understanding of fragmentation as simply a condition of absence or rupture. Instead, it presents fragmentation as an opportunity for reconstruction, allowing familiar forms to be dismantled, reconsidered and transformed into new possibilities.
“At its core, the exhibition invites audiences to look beyond the complete image – to consider what the fragment can reveal about the whole,” the curatorial statement explains.
For the artists, however, the idea of fragmentation is deeply personal. Each has approached the theme from a different perspective, drawing from scars, social realities, cultural memory, resilience and the changing nature of human relationships.
For Idris Olabode Opeyemi, clay becomes a language through which hidden stories can be brought to the surface. A full-time ceramics sculptor based in Lagos, Opeyemi will present four works from his Spirited Vessels series.
The series began with an unusual encounter between the artist and individuals who have scarifications on their faces. Opeyemi invites them into his studio, listens to their stories and transforms their experiences into ceramic forms. Their facial markings, expressions and personal histories become part of the pots he creates.
According to him, the vessels are more than objects. Each one carries the name of the model whose story inspired it.
Through Spirited Vessels, Opeyemi seeks to draw attention to physical and emotional scars that people often hide from society. He believes scars, whether visible on the body or buried within the heart, are part of human existence.
Heartbreak, grief, depression and difficult experiences, he argues, do not diminish an individual. Rather, they become part of the journey of living.
It is this philosophy that connects his series to Fragments of Existence. For Opeyemi, scarification represents a fragment of existence, while the emotions attached to those scars reveal another dimension of what it means to be human.
“This is my first group exhibition,” he says, describing the opportunity as a chance to bring his exploration of scars and identity into a wider artistic conversation.
Okediji Femi Samuel approaches fragmentation from the perspective of society and its changing realities. The multidisciplinary Lagos-based sculptor will exhibit four works, including mixed-media pieces and sculptures made with resin on metal bases.
His works reflect contemporary social conditions and the ways they affect individuals. Through sculpture, he examines issues ranging from insecurity and violence to the gradual erosion of human connection.
One of his works, Burden of a Nation, presents an angular reclining figure that appears calm on the surface but carries the weight of a troubled society. The work references the realities of armed robbery, kidnapping and killings, while maintaining a sense of hope.
For Femi, the reclining posture suggests that despite the burdens people carry, their circumstances do not have to define who they ultimately become.
Another work, When We Become Strangers, reflects on the changing nature of relationships. A figure sits on a swing woven in the form of a traditional hut, evoking a time when neighbours interacted freely, shared possessions and lived in close communal relationships.
The work contrasts that past with contemporary life, where communication increasingly takes place through phones and social media. Femi questions whether civilisation, despite its many advantages, has also contributed to the weakening of communal bonds.
Ebuka Anyiam brings another dimension to the exhibition through pencil, charcoal and acrylic. He will present four works, including Amara and Amara II, which explore resilience through the image of a woman standing above a body of water.
For Anyiam, the water represents the challenges surrounding contemporary existence, from economic hardship to flooding, climate change and the many uncertainties confronting society. Yet the woman does not sink. She remains afloat, suggesting the ability of individuals to rise above adversity.
His other work, Pride of Ovie, draws from Benin cultural identity and the imagery of royalty. Through a princess adorned with beads, Anyiam presents human beings as kings and queens in their own spaces, emphasising dignity, self-worth and the responsibility to continue moving forward.
Celesta Jonah completes the artistic conversation with an introspective portrait set against an intense red field. Her figure, wrapped in black-and-white clothing and defined by a steady gaze, creates a striking tension between vulnerability and composure.
Together, the four artists reveal different fragments of the human experience. Opeyemi explores scars and memory; Femi examines society and its burdens; Anyiam focuses on resilience and cultural identity; while Jonah turns inward to explore emotion and the visible body.
Their works ultimately suggest that existence is never entirely whole or fixed. People carry memories, scars, relationships, cultures, struggles and hopes that continually reshape who they are.
Through Fragments of Existence, Alexis Galleries offers audiences an opportunity to look at those pieces differently. What appears broken may contain a story. What seems incomplete may hold meaning. And what has been displaced may still become the foundation for something new.
The exhibition therefore does not ask viewers merely to admire completed artworks. It asks them to look closely at the fragments and perhaps recognise something of themselves within them.
