CFHILL kicks off the year with the group exhibition ’Stop, listen!’, which presents a selection of contemporary art from Nigeria. These artists, most of whom hail from the younger generation, portray powerful encounters, politics, and scenes with a quality of magical realism, and their voices have only recently begun to be heard thanks to social media.
The title Stop, listen! is mainly a reference to the message communicated by the millions of citizens who joined the massive protests against police brutality, a public sense of outrage that reached its peak in October 2020, when it spawned the mass movement End SARS, but it is also intended as an acknowledgement of the power that exists in this emerging art scene. Their resounding colour chords, drive, and narrative glee lends these works a sense of urgency that viewers will find hard to resist. The idea for the exhibition came from CFHILL’s Michael Elmenbeck, who had already been following several of the participating artists for some time, mainly through their Instagram accounts.
— We began to do some research on Instagram, and discovered this group of artists who sparked our interest. Some of them were already connected to our network, in some cases through the artists we showed in last year’s Black Voices exhibition. Since then, we’ve been cultivating these relationships. The exhibition began taking shape last autumn, and gradually evolved into Stop, listen! This is an art scene that reaches deep inside the viewer, Michael Elmenbeck explains.
The eighteen participating artists introduce themselves through forty works, which will all be shown in the main gallery at Västra Trädgårdsgatan. The selection consists predominantly of paintings, and the subjects depicted include political messages, portraits of friends in various urban or imagined settings, and historical narratives. Some of the artists have formal art training, while others are self-taught, follow existing art traditions in their families, or fetch their inspiration from folk art and religious mythology.
The show opening will occur in parallel; with a simultaneous physical event in Stockholm, and a digital one on Instagram Live, where the participating artist will join us. A digital catalogue is also being produced for the exhibition, including interviews with all the artists in which they discuss their work and their ambitions for the future.
Parts of the proceeds will go to charities that sponsor local art projects in Nigeria.
Stop, listen! will be on show from Friday 22 January to 12 February.
Participating artists:
Bara Sketchbook, Ozoemena Nzubechukwu, Abe Odedina, Barry Yusufu, Ikeorah Chisom Chi-FADA, John Madu, Johnson Eziefula, Olamide Ogunade Olisco, Oliver Okolo, Tonia Nneji, Talut Kareem, Temitayo Ogunbiyi, Victor ubah, Chiderah Bosah, Kelechi Charles Nwaneri, Wole Lagunju, Adegboyega Adesina, Tosin Kalejaye.
