With Black Joy, TAAG Gallery Offers Fresher Visions of Blackness

Black Joy, an exhibition organised by TAAG Gallery, opened online on Friday, February 11 to Friday, March 11. The exhibition, held in commemoration of the Black History Month, features 10 Nigerian artists, whose works interrogate the visual portrayal of the Black body and person all through history.

Hence, through their paintings, the artists – Olaniyi Omotayo, Theophilus Madaki, Gbemileke Adekunle, Esewhaye Oghenetejiri, Simeon Nwoko, Oloruntobi Aina, Paul Ogunlesi, Kelani Fatai, Mubaraq Yusuf, and Mamus Esiebo – grapple with the questions: Is joy possible in the aesthetic conception of Africa? Is it shown enough in our imaging?

The artists’ paintings, which transcend the usual stereotypical perceptions of Africa, offer the viewers fresher varied and textured dimensions of the Africans. “These paintings are not showing ‘the Real Africa,’ an annoyingly reductionist phrase used when referring to particular kinds of images of Africa,” a statement by the gallery says.

Rather, the paintings – most of which are portraits – depict the continent as one revelling in joy in its many forms and nuances. Among these works are Olaniyi Omotayo’s “Black Pride” (2022), Theophilus Madaki’s “My Crush” (2021), Gbemileke Adekunle’s “In Bloom” (2021), Esewhaye Oghenetejiri’s “Happiness Is Free” (2021), Simeon Nwoko’s “The Boy with the Shawl” (2019), Oloruntobi Aina’s “Lady Coal” (2021), Paul Ogunlesi’s “Slumbering Saviour” 1 (2020), Kelani Fatai’s “Welcome to My World” (2021), Mubaraq Yusuf’s “Guardian of the Relic” (2021), Mamus Esiebo’s “Beach Cruise” (2021).

Beyond beaming the spotlight on the many facets of joy, the exhibition also draws the viewers’ attention to the use of portraiture as an African’s mode of expression, the bold use of colours, the value of the commonplace and the fetishisation of the black skin.

Back to the artists, their works have not only been shown but are also collected both within and outside Nigeria, especially in the US, the UK and Morocco, among others. “Although young, their works show impressive skill and help us reflect on the presence and pertinence of joy in our understanding of ourselves and each other,” enthuses the gallery’s curator Asikhia Rodney.