Williams Chechet Explores Nigeria’s History in A New Solo Show

Yinka Olatunbosun

The multi-talented pop artist, Williams Chechet is ready to present his latest solo exhibition titled ‘Heavy is the Head’ at Soto Gallery.  Running from Friday November 25th till Friday December 9th the show alludes to the famous Shakespearean quote, “Uneasy is the head that wears a crown.’’

Through his form and content, the artist underscores the burden and responsibility that comes with status and power. While exploring pop art, culture and afro-futurism, Chechet interrogates black identity as he reimagines history, the digital future and his own sense of his cultural heritage.

His images are bold and engaging, often drawn out of their original context through his creative process, and overlapped with colourful symbolism and accessories.  In his most recent body of work, the artist explores and intentionally incorporates the faces and characters of Northern Nigeria. As a project that enshrines these state actors in our collective memory and consciousness, the Kano-born artist rebirths images and figures that have shaped Nigeria’s history. 

The artist’s influences had been traced to the global pop art movement of the 1960s, with strong references to artists such as Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg and Jean Michel Basquiat.  The graduate of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria has previously exhibited in group shows in the UK, US, South Africa, and Morocco. In 2018, he made the shortlist at the Art X Lagos Art Prize.