By Chris Onuoha

When there is a convergence of talents with multiple ideas, views and notions in one space, one is bound to expect a loud visual noise that communicates. And when the intent is built on a common goal with a formation in form of visual colours and various media, then artists want to pass a message.

That was the scenario perceived from the collation of youthful talented visual art messengers when they decided to make a loud shout with tools in their hands, in the form of art fair, to interrogate the absurdity in the world they live in.

“Shout Plenty,” as the theme goes, is an art exhibition conceived by a team of curators led by Azu Nwagbogu, founder of African Artists’ Foundation (AAF) center and curated by Princess Ayoola and Jana Terblanche. It featured over 30 artists across Africa: Sarfo Emmanuel Annor, Ghana; Nola Ayoola, Nigeria; Samson Bakare, Nigeria; Patrick Bongoy, Congo/South Africa; Nkemka Chinaza, Nigeria; Audrey D’Erneville, Senegal/USA; Olatoye David, Nigeria; Dodji Efoui, Togo;Matthew Eguaveon, Nigeria; Emebiriodo Ugochukwu, Nigeria; Wasiu Eshinlokun, Nigeria; Dan Halter, Zimbabwe; Chisom Ikeorah “Chi Fada”Nigeria; Ishaq Ismail, Ghana; Matt Kayem, Uganda; Lindokuhle Khumalo, South Africa; Ayogu Kingsley, Nigeria; Zemba Luzamba,Congo/South Africa; John Madu, Nigeria; Cinthia Sifa Mulanga, Congo/South Africa); Jean David Nkot, Cameroon; Johnson Ocheja, Nigeria; Emma Odumade, Nigeria; Adaeze Okaro, Nigeria; Precious Opara, Nigeria/UK; Esther Onwukamuche , Nigeria; Sandra Seghir, Senegal; Pierre Segoh, Togo; Kenechukwu Victor, Nigeria; Adesola Yusuf, Nigeria and Blackson Afonso, Portugal who all came together for a common goal.

The exhibition that opened to public on August 13, at Alliance Française, Mike Adenuga Center, Ikoyi and Africa Artist Foundation Center in Victoria Island simultaneously runs till October 1, 2022. The opening afforded art enthusiasts and the general public to savour the beauty of artworks rendered in various visual medium while comprehending the message therein.

In the exhibition, the youth made a statement with the theme, “Shout Plenty” culled from the famous late Nigerian Afrobeat singer, Fela Anukulapo Kuti. The theme points to how humans can use loud noise to pass messages across when their lone voices are suppressed. This Afrobeat composition challenged rampant greed and corruption taking hold in the wake of independence.

Through musical expression, Fela laid bare the ambitions of his generation and their urgent desire for liberation. In this way, artistic expression ignites abstract ideas without deafening rhetoric or over-simplification. Whilst Fela’s composition can be viewed through the lens of politics, it is the means by which he tells his story that keeps the audience engaged. And this is how the art show, ‘Shout Plenty’ approaches artistic invention as a framework to finding solutions in a quest to reveal and imagine unlimited futures.

Quoting the words of Angela Davis from the exhibition statement, it says, “Our histories never unfold in isolation. We cannot truly tell what we consider to be our own histories without knowing the other stories. And often we discover that those other stories are actually our own stories.”  With these, the exhibition tends to interrogate the place of our history and cultural values. It is an assemblage of polyrhythmic voices on the continent of Africa and its diaspora.

This exhibition centers on limitless forms of art making acting as a transmitter for social change. Nothing changes in the world if no one is willing to make this movement. Artists practice the ultimate transgression where visionary insights can be revealed within the context of the everyday, the familiar and the mundane. The artworks presented capture contemporary visual culture articulated through fashion, media, sound, and music. This includes, but is not limited to, painterly expression, photography, textile work, assemblage and relief sculpture. ‘Shout Plenty’ gives voice to the interior lives of a diverse school of artists and by extension their communities. Dialogue between individual experience and collective memory is uncovered.

The statement further quoted, “Examining memory and reflections produces a unique understanding of socio-political experiences. Storytelling unites these artists and is beneficial in bridging cultural and ideological divides. In this way, artistic practice allows for play and human conception to wander outside the confines of perceived reality.”

The curators have assembled artists working across mediums and deliver their intended message with varying degrees of representation and abstraction. Imaginative practice as a site of freedom reveals that a murmur that slowly spreads can, too, be a powerful means of protect. Hyper-stylization of form and figures is at the core of many of these artists’ practices.

A tour at the exhibition reveals more of the message embedded in all the displayed artworks. Reviewing their various exploitations in the body of works, it would be obvious to explain their pains in the society they should call their own.

In the photographic works by Sarfo Emmanuel Annor and Audrey d’Erneville’s magazine-cover-like paintings, extreme saturation and accentuated forms featured. This vibrancy creates a world that mirrors our own but is not bound by representational colouration. Ayogu Kingsley’s hyper-realistic portraits of imagined historical scenarios transform memory into living, malleable history.

Distortion and multiple realities exist in the works of Precious Opara. This coexistence moves past the restrictions of space and time, offering a glimpse into existence beyond our material plane. Abstract concepts and quiet revolution are seen in the sculptural compositions of Adaeze Okaro’s photographs. They communicate the beauty of serenity in unexpected spaces. Similarly, Ishaq Ismail’s abstracted paintings of simplified and distorted figures uncover deep human emotion. These obfuscated forms tap into the inner human psyche to reveal the anxieties and joy of the audience.

Found materials are evident in the works of Dodji Efoui and Matt Kayem. Efoui’s figures, made from scrap metal, simultaneously contort and dance, revealing raw emotion using the human form as a means of expression. Kayem uses recycled denim as a canvas for his scenes of modern rituals that expose the schism between privileged and everyday Ugandans. Assemblage and collaging help artists communicate their cultural identity and incorporate broader visual narratives.

It may not be out of place to say that music and fashion influences are always presence in the works of contemporary visual artists. More so, the sartorial splendour and how we present ourselves are inextricably linked to our identities and sense of belonging. This is made visible in Cinthia Sifa Mulanga tableaus which reference contemporary design and fashion, thus highlighting the importance of agency in visual representation. Sandra Seghir’s painted triptych honours the legacy of

Fela Kuti and the Pan-African ideas revealed through his art and political activism. Seghir’s panels harmoniously blend together like a melody thus emulating sonic rhythms. Through references and engaging history, artists place themselves at the centre of culture and forge connections between the past and present. Symbology is seen in the work of Pierre Segoh, John Madu and Jean David Nkot. Nkot uses recognisable symbols to create new layered meanings. Through the language of cartography, he examines the links between the colonial past and contemporary life.

Similarly, Lindokuhle Khumalo’s saccharine green figures, while tethered to the human world through figuration, employ symbols to express what is happening beyond the picture plane. Chisom “Chi Fada” Ikeorah highlights the fallacy of Western religious superiority through his story-rich paintings. Visual clues are disseminated throughout his paintings to help the audience question the motivations of the West in African affairs.

Ayougu Kingsley Where the bros was at II, 2022 Lindokhule Khumalo Emakhaya Siyefana Matt Kayem Deeper Waters, 2022. The human impact on the environment is explored through materiality andconceptual expression. Rapidly changing climates and unethical sourcing of raw minerals has historically disproportionately affected marginalized communities.

Patrick Bongoy, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, uses recycled rubber Inner tubes to create his three-dimensional tapestries. This material is a nod to the Congo’s well-documented rubber trade and the long-lasting impact of Western Imperialism. Similarly in Dan Halter’s Foot sack Empire 3, plastic bags form the Union Jack thus drawing an immediate correlation between colonization, globalization and industrialization.

Distilling these artistic interventions expands our views on who we are and where we might be headed. Imagination is the lifeblood of mass social movements. These artists are change makers using their practices to amplify the discourse around social justice and fairness. ‘Shout Plenty’ expounds on how art can function as a powerful and revolutionary force to overhaul institutionalized systems of domination.

More of these messages are all that the artists were able to unleash to interrogate the world around them. The question, however, remains if the authority concern is paying heed to these positive noises coming from the owners and leaders of tomorrow.