By Prisca Sam-Duru

After over two decades of art practice marked by participation in so many group exhibitions both within and outside the country, Emeka Mwagbara finally holds a solo exhibition.

The solo show, titled “Priceless Odyssey”, features 21 striking paintings and 13 beautiful drawings selected from the artist’s collection from 2012 till date.

The exhibition opens to the public from September 25, 2024 after a private viewing, and runs till October 12, 2024.

As the title clearly depicts, “Priceless Odyssey”, curated by Idowu Bankole, chronicles the artist’s journey of life; his journey in the art industry in particular. It has a central message which according to Nwagbara, is that for every journey, the destination does not matter but the lessons we learn along the way are priceless. “It is an embodiment of a journey into my art life. The journey started from birth; let me not put a particular date to it. There was the talent but I needed to grow the talent.

I only studied Fine Art in secondary school and had A1 in WAEC. That was the last as at that time. I never studied art. I studied Accounting in university and went into banking. Now I’m back to my first love,” the artist explained.

Wondering whether he is among some practitioners who describe themselves as self taught artists, he said, “I don’t really believe in that word self-taught. I had to hone my talent under Edosa Ogiugu, Olu Ajayi and Abiodun Olaku. I studied art under Edosa Ogiugu. Later he took me to Universal Studios of Arts where I met other great men like Abiodun Olaku, Babatunde, Ejor, Fidelis Odogwu, Wallace, etc. There you’ll find more dedicated artists that train Nigerian students from all over the country. These men made a great impact on my artistic career and till date, I hold them in high esteem.”

Evident in the body of work on display at Mydrim Gallery, is how much Nwagbara’s art has evolved for over two decades. The works speak volume about an artist that offers viewers mesmerising brush strokes, colours, canvas and more. Little wonder his works mostly on oil and pencil drawings are the delight of galleries and collectors.

In as much as the works are meant to reflect his career progression from his days of little beginning, there are different pieces that focus on diverse issues, ranging from family, socio-political issues, to feminism.

For instance, a piece titled “A Nation and Its People 1”, narrates the story of African leaders. As a figurative artist, Nwagbara, in this piece, employs animals to push his message across. According to him, “I used animals to depict the leaders in the painting. But that does not mean they are animals. No, it is just figurative.

In the painting, you can see a goat and chimpanzee representing our leaders with daily newspapers on their office tables. They read the stories published in national dailies, but they do not act because they do not care about the people. They are selfish, greedy and do whatever they wish.”

Another painting speaking to political issues in Nigeria is the art on the unforgettable judgement by the Nigerian judiciary on the 2023 presidential election petitions. It is titled, “Preponderance of the Law, You Got It”. It has three judges deciding the fate of over 200 million Nigerians.

The fine artist does abstract works too, most of which are acrylic on canvas. An example is a beautiful painting titled, “My Cup Runneth over”. It takes an eagle-eyed observer to pick out the painting of a chalice in the midst of the piece. “For my abstract, I paint from the heart. I usually get on the canvas with a vision but most times, it takes me to where it takes me to- end of the painting,” he said.

“Osondi Owendi 11” captures the mood of two women, one looking happy and the other, jealous. You never can tell the cause of their misfortune or pleasure. That’s just the way life is. It can’t always be rosy.

“Gele Home Coming” shows women’s mood also but this time, after a party. They are colourfully dressed in the same matching outfit known among the Yorubas as Aso Ebi. Going back home, the women seem to be gossiping about the events that made the party exciting or disappointing.

Asked why there are more pieces celebrating women, the artist said, “I like the feminine figure. They are interesting and nobody can lie about that. Even women like to see women with beautiful shapes, not to talk of men. As a figurative artist, when I tell stories, I do so with different genders. But the female figure interests me a lot.”