07 February 2024

Magazine C& Magazine

Words Sinazo Chiya

2 min read

Review

Contemporary art

Lagos

Folakunle Oshun

Kathryn Weir

Lagos Biennial 2024

A Biennial reflecting on the concept of nation-state, important historical events on the continent and new exhibition making.

Under the artistic direction of Kathryn Weir and Folakunle Oshun, the 2024 edition of the Lagos Biennial takes place in the heart of Lagos on the grounds of Tafawa Balewa Square from 3-10 February.

The Biennial occupies this historical space, that is named after the first Nigerian Prime Minister. Entitle REFUGE, the Lagos Biennial addresses the concept of nation-state and critically reflects the site, that is linked to entertainment in the colonial period, as a racecourse and to political, cultural and commercial events after Independence. Tafawa Balewa Square was also a key venue of the Festival of Black Arts and Culture FESTAC ’77. In order to reflect on its possible meanings in relation to political allegiance, territory, sovereignty, regionality, notions of belonging, encounter, and alliance, the concept moves the cursor away from a history of ‘universal’ exhibitions and biennials towards experiments in non-conventional modes of exhibition making, shifting from the idea of the work as an end in itself towards generative models and prototypes that continue to activate possibilities in the world. The curators are investigating the question of how this cultural heritage can be reinterpreted in Lagos fifty years later.

Find some impressions of the main exhibition here.

Ibrahim Mahama, Yakachana, 2012 – 2024. Installation view of Lagos Biennale 2024 at Tafawa Balewa Square. Photo: Sinazo Chiya

Ste’phanie Brossard, Boukan 2024. Installation view of Lagos Biennale 2024 at Tafawa Balewa Square. Photo: Sinazo Chiya

Olayani Studio (Yussef Agbo-Ola) Airi: Bone Altar, Installation view of Lagos Biennale 2024 at Tafawa Balewa Square. Photo: Sinazo Chiya

Bruce Onobrakpeya, Installation view of Lagos Biennale 2024 at Tafawa Balewa Square. Photo: Sinazo Chiya

Installation view of Lagos Biennale 2024 at Tafawa Balewa Square. Photo: Sinazo Chiya

XTRÆNCESTRAL( Kukily Afrofeminist Arts Collective (curator), Julia Cohen Ribeiro; Florencia Victoria Gomes; Lina Lasso; Colleen Ndemeh Fitzgerald; Jasmin Sánchez), XTRÆNCESTRAL, 2019 – ongoing. Installation view of Lagos Biennale 2024 at Tafawa Balewa Square. Photo: Sinazo Chiya

Chinenye Emelogu, Human Hive 3, 2024. Installation view of Lagos Biennale 2024 at Tafawa Balewa Square. Photo: Sinazo Chiya

Rabeeha Adnan, A Word Fell Down, 2024. Installation view of Lagos Biennale 2024 at Tafawa Balewa Square. Photo: Sinazo Chiya

Outsiders: Martinka Bobrikova, Oscar de Carmen, Mari’a Alejendra Gatti, Anto Lloveras , Re(t)ex Hile, 2024. Installation view of Lagos Biennale 2024 at Tafawa Balewa Square. Photo: Sinazo Chiya

Deniz Bedir, Tas,lik Kahvesi, 2024.Installation view of Lagos Biennale 2024 at Tafawa Balewa Square. Photo: Sinazo Chiya

Installation view of Lagos Biennale 2024 at Tafawa Balewa Square. Photo: Sinazo Chiya

XTRÆNCESTRAL( Kukily Afrofeminist Arts Collective (curator), Julia Cohen Ribeiro; Florencia Victoria Gomes; Lina Lasso; Colleen Ndemeh Fitzgerald; Jasmin Sánchez) XTRÆNCESTRAL, 2019 – ongoing. Installation view of Lagos Biennale 2024 at Tafawa Balewa Square. Photo: Sinazo Chiya

Tricky Wish, Hungerstein, 2024. Installation view of Lagos Biennale 2024 at Tafawa Balewa Square. Photo: Sinazo Chiya

Installation view of Lagos Biennale 2024 at Tafawa Balewa Square. Photo: Sinazo Chiya

Henrique Oliveira, Island, 2024. Installation view of Lagos Biennale 2024 at Tafawa Balewa Square. Photo: Sinazo Chiya

Installation view of Lagos Biennale 2024 at Tafawa Balewa Square. Photo: Sinazo Chiya

Victor Ehikhamenor, Miracle central, 2024. Installation view of Lagos Biennale 2024 at Tafawa Balewa Square. Photo: Sinazo Chiya

Tabita Rezaire, Omi Elu, 2024. Installation view of Lagos Biennale 2024 at Tafawa Balewa Square. Photo: Sinazo Chiya

Demas Nwoko. Installation view of Lagos Biennale 2024 at Tafawa Balewa Square. Photo: Sinazo Chiya

THE ALBANIAN CONFERENCE (Anna Ehrenstein, Vidisha-Fadescha, Shaunak Mahbubani, DNA (Blair Opara and Clinton Opara), Rebecca Pokua Korang), Wahala, Freedom, Quantum Leap, 2024. Installation view of Lagos Biennale 2024 at Tafawa Balewa Square. Photo: Sinazo Chiya

KJ Abudu (curator); Evan Ifekoya; Nolan Oswald Dennis; Raymond Pinto; Temitayo Shonibare; Adeju Thompson, Traces of ecstasy, 2024. Installation view of Lagos Biennale 2024 at Tafawa Balewa Square. Photo: Sinazo Chiya

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