History, Traditions and Culture

This exhibition explores works by artists that retell historical stories and speak on different traditions they grew up with and encounter on daily life.  The featured artists include: Issac Emokpae, Stephen Tayo, Osaze Amadasun, Marcellina Akpojotor and Dandelion Eghosa. 

Daughter of Esan (first generation) (2018) by Marcellina AkpojotorRele Arts Foundation

Daughter's of Esan

Daughters of Esan', by Marcellina Akpojotor is a generational story of timeless ambition and one woman who saw into the future. The series depicts five generations of women (Akpojotor's great-grand mother, her grand-mother, her mother, herself and her child) with roots from Esan – an ethnic group that occupies central Edo State.

Daughter of Esan (second generation) (2018) by Marcellina AkpojotorRele Arts Foundation

Daughter of Esan (third generation) (2018) by Marcellina AkpojotorRele Arts Foundation

Daughter of Esan (fourth generation) (2018) by Marcellina AkpojotorRele Arts Foundation

Daughter of Esan (fifth generation) (2018) by Marcellina AkpojotorRele Arts Foundation

The Latent Oba of Benin (2019) by Osaze AmadasunRele Arts Foundation

Once Upon A Kingdom

Osaze Amadasun’s taps into the diverse culture around him to create his art, particularly his Benin heritage which he often depicts stories of historical or fabled happenings. His series ‘Once Upon a Kingdom’, is a collection of four paintings depicting key events during the rule of Oba Esigie (1504-1550), the Benin monarch, climaxing in a tribute to his mother, Queen Idia. The works draw on 16th-century stories from the Benin kingdom which have been immortalised in the bronze works of the Benin bronze casters and in anthropological data.

The Fall of Ahianmwen Oro (Bird of Prophecy) (2019) by Osaze AmadasunRele Arts Foundation

The Baptism of Oba Esegie (2019) by Osaze AmadasunRele Arts Foundation

The Revelation of Ahianmwen (2019) by Osaze AmadasunRele Arts Foundation

Moedls (Ibeji Series) (2019) by Stephen TayoRele Arts Foundation

Ibeji 

Stephen Tayo -Photographer Stephen Tayo’s  series titled “Ibeji” explores the psychological impact of having to share kinship with and having one’s identity defined by another. Ibeji is the name of the Orisha deity that represents and protects twins in West African and diasporic Yoruba culture. Twins have historically been celebrated as a sign of good fortune by the Yoruba people – an ethnic group originating from Yorubaland, an area in and around present-day Nigeria. Ibeji can be translated to mean “the arrival of two”. 

Electricians (Ibeji Series) (2019) by Stephen TayoRele Arts Foundation

Aspiring Models (Ibeji Series) (2019) by Stephen TayoRele Arts Foundation

Stylists (Ibeji Series) (2019) by Stephen TayoRele Arts Foundation

Dancers (Ibeji Series) (2019) by Stephen TayoRele Arts Foundation

Rhythm of Tenderness (2019) by Dandelion EghosaRele Arts Foundation

Home

Dandelion Eghosa re-examines the notion of “Home” by visiting places and re-living childhood experiences and traditions that were once familiar and now feel foreign and uncomfortable. Memory is never a single, solid unit—it is a collection of multiple instances. This is why the word recollect exists. When we remember, we gather together bits and pieces of events, people, places, sounds, feelings. Memory is therefore a collage. The images in Home seem to acknowledge this. Each image in the series look like a set of layers and textures joined together to form a single image. 

A Song of Three Voices (2019) by Dandelion EghosaRele Arts Foundation

Rhythm of Tenderness (2019) by Dandelion EghosaRele Arts Foundation

Surrendering to the Shimmering Spray (2019) by Dandelion EghosaRele Arts Foundation

Monad S4 #2 (2017) by Issac EmokpaeRele Arts Foundation

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Visual Artist and Painter Issac Emokpae pays homage to fatherly figures- both earthly and divine, who have played significant roles and spurred the artist on his creative journey. With gratitude, Emokpae, thanks both divine and earthly father figures who have spurred him on in his creative pursuits. Embedded in these works are slight indications of his influences—especially visual manifestations of style streamed down from his father, Artist Erhabor Emokpae, and thematic directions culled from the accessible musings of and on his creator.

Uvbi Me Mose (2017) by Issac EmokpaeRele Arts Foundation

Master of None (2017) by Issac EmokpaeRele Arts Foundation

Face of Man (Series 3) #1 (2017) by Issac EmokpaeRele Arts Foundation

This Woman's Work 3 (2017) by Issac EmokpaeRele Arts Foundation

Credits: Story

Issac Emokpae
Dandelion Eghosa
Marcellina Akpojotor
Osaze Amadasun
Stephen Tayo

Rele Arts Foundation | Rele Gallery
Onikan, Lagos, Nigeria

For more information visit www.rele.co

Exhibit created by
Rele Gallery | Rele Arts Foundation

Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.