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By Kehinde Aderemi
Arts enthusiasts from across the world gathered recently at the Alliance Francaise de Lagos, Ikoyi, to celebrate young Nigerian creative artist, Emmanuel Idowu.
It was a solo exhibition with the title: ‘Echoes of innocence,’ by the 2023 ABSA L’Atelier ambassador, Emmanuel Idowu. The event was organised by Nigerian-based creative arts promoter ABSA L’Atelier, in partnership with Alliance Française- de Lagos
The Solo exhibition was a brilliant demonstration of Idowu’s creative ingenuity and artistic prowess. It was an evening filled with lots of fun and excitement as young artists, admirers, including men, women and children were also attracted to the neatly painted works of art that were beautifully displayed at the exhibition.
According to the organisers, Stories in Conversation, was part of ABSA’s initiative to explore the arts’ world, bridging the gap between Nigerian creative artists and that of their counterparts abroad.
Chief Executive Officer of ABSA L’Atelier in Nigeria, Sadiq Abu, said the event was to showcase Idowu’s artistic works. Abu added that the exhibition was designed to put to global reckoning the artistic talent of Idowu and a few others that had also gone through the same process.
He stated further that Idowu’s art works were laced with stories of Nigeria’s rich culture with African greatness and diversity, noting that the young artist reflected the old values of his background and growing up as a young boy.
“ABSA L’Atelier has been promoting Nigerian artists with creative talents for the past 39 years. We use our competition and artists exhibition platforms to showcase the creative efforts and talents of upcoming African artists. Nigerian artists have been using their creative talents to explore the arts world, demonstrating unique strength and creativity.
“That is why we are here many times to showcase the best of our upcoming talents. A few weeks ago, we were here with Badru, now we are here with Emmanuel Idowu, and next year we will be here with a number of other artists that are going to demonstrate their strength on the African continent.
“I think the stories that they explore in their arts are different, but you can see the commonality of the African stories in their artwork. For instance, Idowu is exploring the themes of childhood innocence generally within the African context, and I am happy that the messages he passed across with his works are well understood. As a talented artist, Idowu explored intricate relationship between memory and time, capturing the glow of life between past and present.
“It reflects the best of our identity and perception, narrating the stories of how these primitive memories shaped our outside world. At the heart of these stories is the image of children, clanging their ears even as they suspended in a mid-air. Idowu’s artworks also reflect the delicate balance between hope and adversity, movement and stillness.
“The work symbolises the abstract phase and the determination of the crowd to overcome them. His creative and inspirational works were grounded in Yoruba, exploring the diversity of Africans and other parts of the world. Through his arts, he reflected that a course of innocence is a meditation of memory, resilience, and the enduring human spirit.
“It invites you to reconnect with your own past, to remember the joys, struggles, and inspirations as you continue to see who you are.”
Speaking further, Abu said: “As we promote their works, we also expose them to a global audience. They are exposed to a residency in South Africa for a couple of months. In addition to that residency in South Africa, where they get to work with world-class talented artists, we also showcase them to global galleries and global exhibitions.
“The exhibition today is just one in a series of exhibitions that this young talent will be exposed to and which will ultimately land them in good stead as they pursue their artistic careers. We have had Raji Bamidele, Taofeek Badru, and Emmanuel Idowu.
“So this is something that we have started and it will continue as long as Nigerian artists continue to demonstrate the strength of their creativity by working through ABSA and being the best of themselves,” he said.
Also speaking, ABSA L’Atelier Art Curator, Dr. Paul Bayliss, said Idowu’s work is very much rooted in African terms depicting African culture and identity.
He added that the Osun State-born artist uses his artistic techniques to tell his stories and pass across his message to the world.
“I am impressed by the message the young man is passing across to the world. He has put his works and message very much on a global stage. If you look at the influence of the technique that is brought in and so on, you will realise that Idowu embraces his roots as a Nigerian artist reflecting his position in his work internationally.”
In his remarks, the Director Alliance Française – de Lagos, Marc Brebant, said Idowu’s artistic brilliance was evident in his ability to reflect childhood innocence and resilience, spreading the message of hope by capturing African stories and using his experience while growing up to tell Yoruba stories and philosophy of Western culture.
“The quality of his works, the message he passed across, and the techniques are clearly stated. No ambiguity. It is a reflection of a typical African setting, with creative ideas of bringing the past to the present and showing a future that is very prosperous.”
“Idowu was very particular about the culture of his roots. He showed patience, hope, resilience, and candour, and in all, he has set the pace for another global discourse about the possibility of the African renaissance.”
While conducting the guests to the gallery, Idowu said he was inspired by the passion to set Nigerian arts on a global stage. The 33-year- old artist spoke about his growing up, highlighting the support of his parents in his career.
“Today’s event is part of the success stories I tell the world with the support of ABSA L’Atelier. For me, passion to set Nigerian arts on a global stage spurs me on, and my works speak about my childhood memories.
“The memories of the past, how we grew up as a child, as a Yoruba boy, the Yoruba methodology, the idea that we conceived, how we were able to play together, to build ourselves. This was the idea I conceived to create this body of work.
“There is a particular work that told a story about little children gathering themselves together to have some fun in the garden. So this is just like a memory.
“It reminded us about how we grew up and how we were able to carry and develop ourselves while we were growing up and how we were able to use this to face the challenges of life,” he said.
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Through the works, he evokes memory of ‘old’ and the carefree moments of what it meant to be young. According to the artist, the theme was inspired by “Boy on a Swing”, a poem by Oswald Mbuyiseni Mtshali.
Going down the memory lane, Idowu said Mtshali was a South African-born poet who grew up in the 1940s and 50s and experienced firsthand the racial segregation and oppression that characterised South Africa’s apartheid regime.
Through his poem, and other works including the highly regarded ‘Nightfall in Soweto,’ Idowu joins Mtshali in evoking a powerful sense of nostalgia and contemplation of childhood while reflecting on the innocence of youth and the passage of time.
As is often the case with art, there are stories behind every painting. The painting of children climbing ropes symbolises resilience, determination, and the journey toward achieving bigger dreams and a brighter future through daily struggles for liberation. On the other hand, it symbolises innocence, juxtaposing them with the harsh realities of life, including questions about identity, our belonging in the world and family dynamics, such as parental absence and familial relationships.
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Beyond the central figures in each of the artworks, Idowu incorporates objects to enhance each of the work’s impact, with each imagery either of books, flower baskets or chickens pregnant with symbolic meaning and representing a different aspect of time and memory while capturing youthful vulnerability and the fleeting nature of childhood.
The flower baskets, filled with delicate blooms, evoke the fleeting beauty of childhood moments, that blossom and fade, just as the chickens are tied to the rhythms of rural life and Yoruba culture; symbolising continuity, transformation, and the passage of time. The books serve as a vessel of knowledge, reflecting the formative nature of childhood learning and experience.
In each artwork, colour plays a crucial role in setting the emotional tone. A dominant pink palette, rooted in Idowu’s connection to red, a foundational colour in his work, is balanced by light yellow ochre, creating a warmth that reinforces themes of nostalgia and reflection.
The exhibition became lively when guests took time to share their experiences. Many of them took pictures with different artworks that were neatly displayed on the walls.
