Damiete Braide
Prof Chinua Achebe once said, if you don’t tell your stories, other people will tell it for you. This is in tandem with what Philips Akwari, a photo-documentary artist, did in a recent solo exhibition of photography at the M Visuals and Thought Gallery, Ikoyi, Lagos, themed “The Rich Abriba Heritage”. Abiriba is a town in Abia State noted for its business acumen and rich culture.
The Special Guest of Honour, Chief Kalu Kalu Ogbu, Enachioken of Abriba Kingdom (IV), who led other dignitaries to the exhibition, proved to be a denizen of art when he explained the significance of the artworks, which served as a memory lane for all.
The paramount ruler of Abriba explained that the exhibition told the story of Abriba in a very simple way in pictorial form. “When we look at the works, you will see the beginning of a man to the end of the man. The story is so beautiful and flows naturally: how a man is introduced to the society; how he grows up, marries, retires and till the end. You now see him as an elder statesman in the person of Prof Anya O. Anya and others, which is a true picture of Abriba in a very simple format.
The elated paramount ruler echoed the importance of photography, especially, in capturing the history and documentation of Abriba culture, filling him with nostalgia.
He said, “There is beauty in creating pictorials of things. Ordinarily, people would not have remembered anything, but, seeing it in pictorial form, it comes across as a beautiful work of art, and reminds people of what happened before now,” assuring that Abriba community would adopt this historical documentation for future generations, because the exhibition was an opener for all of us. “What the artist has done is good and encouraging,” he added.
The king hinted that the artists should take his artworks to Abriba itself in order to avail the people the opportunity to see them. “At the end of the exhibition in Lagos, if he doesn’t come home to Abriba to exhibit these works, it doesn’t make sense, because it is the people of Abriba that the exhibition is targeted at.
“Though the entire world can see it here, we have to start from home, because charity begins at home. He will equally showcase the exhibition in Abuja,” he said. He also urged Akwari to hold another exhibition in Abriba during Christmas period when a many people would come home to celebrate with their relatives. It will offer hope to the younger generations who may have forgotten the history of the Abriba people,” he said.
Explaining how he collected the photos for the exhibition, Akwari noted he had been taking them since 2013, and decided to tell Abriba stories, which had been paramount in his mind. He transversed the community by taking photographs at different occasions.
“Of course, Abriba looks like a gallery, and it is something that will attract people’s attention. There are artifacts, monumental structures and cultural festivals which are like carnivals,” he explained.
In 2011, the artist decided to take a career path in photography. Subsequently, he travelled to India, and studied photography. On completion of the programme, he returned to Nigeria, and decided to take it up from there by becoming a photo-documentary artist.
Some of the works exhibited at the gallery included Kalu Ogba’s Mansion, Enuda College, Ina Ndi, Ekwo Mgba, Itu Eye, Ikuru Igwa Mang, Uche Oba, Igba Ekpe, Igba Nnunnu, Uluo Elu Ete Igwu, Ekpe Ekoro, Uche Onyeani, Ibu Mmanyi, Igwa Mang, Izara Efa, Ime Uche, Abriba Dressing, among others.