Josiah: Unframed

Rele Lagos presents Unframed by Josiah C. Josiah. Unframed is a performance-style exhibition, recreating the artist’s studio in the gallery space. Playing on the idea of sublimation, the psychological process through which base and mundane elements are transformed into something noble and fine, the gallery studio will serve as a blank canvas, from which Josiah will be making new work; without a predetermined destination in mind.

Artists such as Bruce Nauman, William Kentridge and Henri Matisse have historically investigated the possibilities of creating art within the confines of their studios, presenting the notion that the studio’s function transcends being a built environment – sometimes it moonlights as an intrinsic part of the subject matter. Josiah also seeks to manoeuvre the phenomenology of creating, through his intuitive and patchwork style of working. His passions for swimming and dance are rendered with energetic and elegant strokes of paint and charcoal, enlivening his subjects and giving the impression that they could ripple and flow out of the canvas, onto the walls and into a metaphysical ether.

Through this filter of self-awareness and exploration, Josiah invites the gallery’s guests to interact with him over the course of several weeks. The intention is to foster intimacy between the artist and the viewer, allowing both parties to look for points of connection, however solid, fragile or tenuous they may be, as they witness an artistic process that is laboured and persistently revised.

The engagement may also have a decisive influence on Josiah’s progress, which will be charted through 3 sessions* that the public are invited to participate in – the door is as open to the mystery of possibilities. The first and second sessions will be accompanied by unique playlists created by the artist, alongside a confluence of his passions, from dance and poetry to conversations about his material experimentation. The final session will culminate in the exhibition of his newly created body of work – Asibi Danjuma, Curator

*The details of each session will be announced online a week prior to its occurrence.

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