By Osa Mbonu-Amadi, Arts Editor

After being upbraided by netizens for crossing the legendary River Nun to Bumoundi on a rustic fisherman’s boat without a lifejacket in 2019 to cover the burial of renowned poet Gabriel Okara, I was hesitant to cross another large body of water on a rickety boat to Tarkwa Bay to interview five visual artists who had been on that man-made island for a two-week art residency.

But a tourist and journalist is like a soldier, I reminded myself; we do not evade duty out of fear. Hence, I boarded the boat with my colleague and crossed the Lagos Harbour to Tarkwa Bay.

We were received by the curator, Adebimpe Owoyemi, who took us to the wooden house where the five artists—Josiah C. Josiah, Olúbùnmi Atere, Darlington A. Chukwumezie, Olorunyemi Kolapo, and Elizabeth Chioma Ekpetorson—were ensconced. The art program, organised by Farmhouse Residency, started on May 18 and was to end the following day, June 1, 2025. The theme the five artists explored revolved around the environment.

Each artist spoke with Vanguard, explaining the artworks they created and the inspirations behind them:

Josiah C. Josiah

Josiah, who was working on 10 paintings on canvas, said his works were inspired by the statement, “I de fear water,” which he often hears from people. His works speak against environmental pollution. “We cannot do without our environment. We need to preserve it—from the satchet water bags, PET bottles, and other objects we freely throw into the gutters or the ocean shore, in the case of Tarkwa Bay,” he said.

Olúbùnmi Atere

She described herself as a conceptual and contemporary artist. Although a ceramist, she decided to explore jute sack with found materials from Tarkwa Bay. Atere, one of whose works is titled ‘Encounter of Gazes,’ said, “A lot of transportation and business happen here. But there seems to be some contrasts where the kind of businesses that pass through this water do not really influence the people who stay here. So, I thought the sack is a very good material to capture that journey, the journey between what is happening here and all the other places I extend to…. So, with that sack, I decided to make an eye to honour the spirituality of the place. I decided to create an eye that captures the experience as a space of archive, a living archive that you can interact with and come back to.”

Darlington Chukwumezie

Unlike the other four, Darlington resides on Tarkwa Bay, where he has a very organic art workshop he creatively built into the beach environment. His work is an installation created from recycled materials and found objects he sourced from Tarkwa Bay: floaters, doll babies, fishing nets, etc.

He adopts the proverbial ‘early bird gets the fattest worm’ method. He wakes up very early in the morning to dive into the water and walk the beach shore, hunting for found objects washed ashore by the waves.

“Most of the time when I go out to take my materials, I go with the kids from the community to show them why it is good to pick these objects and why it is bad to throw objects into the ocean. I will continue to teach them because I am seeing results too,” Darlington said.

Olorunyemi Kolapo

Describing himself as “a science-inspired artist,” Kolapo ingeniously converted a discarded satellite dish tray into a canvas on which he painted the bust of a young beautiful African lady. He said the image was futuristic and symbolises signal, identity, and beads: “This morning, when I was looking at the work itself, I saw it like the necklaces coming out as beauty. But the futuristic necklace is coming like a bondage. It reminds me of the slavery time. The reason for using the dish from there is basically because of signal.”

Elizabeth Ekpetorson

Her works (up to 10 in number) dwell on the old, abandoned lighthouse on Tarkwa Bay, which she said, as a relic, should have been a tourist attraction but was sadly in a deplorable state, mirroring our acquired lack of maintenance culture. “The lighthouse,” Ekpetorson said, “represents other monuments that are ill-maintained.”

Adebimpe Owoyemi, Curator

She highlighted the impact of the Tarkwa Bay residency on creativity and environmental awareness, emphasising that the programme was designed to enhance artists’ creativity and provide them with opportunities to develop both new and existing artistic techniques.

The curator expressed satisfaction that participating artists successfully addressed critical themes such as environmental conservation, human development, and the preservation of culture and traditions through their works during the residency.

Regarding the choice of Tarkwa Bay and the focus on environmental conservation, Owoyemi said the theme was especially timely. Tarkwa Island has been facing significant environmental challenges, including oil spills caused by illegal bunkering, poor waste management, pollution, and other threats that jeopardise sustainable livelihoods on the island.

Owoyemi praised the five artists for their dedication and focus throughout the residency and assured that there will be future editions of the programme to continue fostering artistic growth and social engagement.