By Japhet Alakam

LAGOS art collectors, lovers and promoters were treated to another celebration of the creative ingeunity of a leading contemporary artist, Richardson Ovbiebo, as he opened his second solo exhibition in Lagos tagged Yet Another Place,an exhibition of sculptures and installations.

• Aso Ebi(Gele 1)one of the works by Richardson Ovbiebo

Richardson who marked his entry into the art scene a few years ago with a solo show titled, The Forms I Heard, in this exhibition presents a collection of his introspections on the idea of a home as a place of shared experience, memory and history and how the social dynamics that emerge within an environment informs the way a home is created and recreated and how the home in return influences the society.

The exhibition which opened on November 28, 2015, at Omenka Gallery and will run till December 12 is a culmination of the artist’s experiments  begun about three years ago that explore the use of text in rhetorical manner in an attempt to bring into broader discourse the thoughts and actions of members of his immediate community.

A critical look at the works which were displayed at all the corners of the hall reveals the zeal, dexterity and masterly use of materials by a young man who is determined to make a difference in the art scene.  In this new visual language through which he revisits the social dynamics that drive his practice, he continues to demonstrate a commitment to metal by repurposing everyday objects.

Collectively, these works consider how language and mundane objects define people and the spaces they occupy. Further, they present a record of today’s communities and interactions therein. Though the artist’s work and practice are informed by an array of influences, his principal reference is Lagos and specifically Somolu, where he lives and works.

The works in this exhibition begin with the artist’s acute observations of his surroundings in mixed media, including found and custom-made objects.

According to the artist, it is a continuation from his first solo exhibition where he used doors as a metaphor to tap into some of the social dynamics that he observed in his environment. And in this show, it takes him to another place as he looks at burglary doors, a mosquito net door and a wooden door he installed in his new apartment and the memory of what they stand for as it concerns a space.

Featuring about 28 works, which can be loosely grouped into 4 main strains; the freely standing blocks of steel, complete with locking mechanism, a metaphor for the home as a sanctuary; and the hollow skeletal frameworks made up of strips of flattened metal, cleverly interwoven to delineate the head and shoulders, and sometimes torsos of his subjects. These forms often adorn coiffures composed of disused bicycle wheels, which are metaphors for the circles of unity within the communities.

Some of the works on display include,Aso ebi (Gele) 1 and 2,Agent 1, Another Place, Law Book(Pages series) Street Code(Pages Series)Omo Onile series,Special Number and others.

For example, the series Street Code, where for the first time in his career, Ovbiebo has integrated text. Rendered as letters cut from Perspex, they included words, highlighted phrases found around Lagos and those that are frequently used when discussing Lagos.

Speaking about the exhibition, the sponsor and curator, Hakeem Adedeji of Hydrocarbon Advisors Limited said, “this is the first in a series of shows that Hydrocarbon Advisors has committed to support. In lending a voice to fresh talent, the company will actively encourage emerging names on the Nigeria art space, while strongly cultivating their professional careers.”