Chronicle of Argungu Culture in “Argungu Series 10” Exhibition

Yinka Olatunbosun

The “Argungu Series 10” art exhibition, inspired by the picturesque Argungu town in Kebbi State, Nigeria, is currently on display at O’DA Art Gallery, located at 10 Sir Samuel Manuwa Street, Victoria Island, Lagos. This exhibition will run until July 13, 2024.

Oghagbon Moses, the founder of the Argungu Series and the Colours of Uhola project, is the mastermind behind this exhibition. His project aims to chronicle and represent the rich cultural heritage of the Argungu and Zuru Emirates in Kebbi State. Through his paintings, Moses captures the essence of Argungu, a city renowned for its annual Argungu Festival, which features a bare-hand fishing competition. This unique event, where thousands of fishermen compete using hand nets and large gourds, is beautifully depicted in one of Moses’s paintings titled “For The Love It 1” (Argungu); Oil on Canvas.

Moses, a professional Nigerian studio artist and freelance tourism photographer, specializes in documenting cultural festivals, environmental subjects, and travel and adventure scenes for both current and future generations. His deep passion for visual art and photography drives his ongoing Argungu Series project and his “Tour Nigeria” documentation. His goal is to preserve and share his experiences through his art.

Some notable works on display include “For The Love It 1” (Argungu); Oil on Canvas, “Somewhere in Yeldu” (Argungu) on Canvas, “Believe 2” (Argungu) Oil on Canvas, and “Dogarai” Acrylic on Canvas (2024). Moses explains that his passion for Argungu drives his meticulous documentation and representation of the area’s vast landscape, lifestyle, culture, fashion, history, religion, and everyday life—not just the festival but the entirety of Argungu Emirate.

“I have taken upon my shoulders the crusade to make the vast cultural heritage of the Argungu Emirate of Kebbi State, Nigeria, a global showpiece with my colors, lens, hues, techniques, and images of the very essence of the Argungu people,” Moses stated.

From the curator’s perspective, Asibi Danjuma praises Moses’s work, highlighting the beautiful lines and vivid depictions, such as donkeys journeying toward the town of Kamba. Danjuma noted, “Arguably, Oghagbon’s most alluring trick is how he conjures within the viewer the moral feelings of nature at sunset. Employing acrylic and oil, he achieves a depth of color that enhances the transient mood of his paintings.”
Danjuma further explains the dramatic range of Moses’s work, which includes large-scale and horizontal paintings characterided by broken lines that delineate the forms of fishermen heading towards the phantom-like Sokoto River with brooding intensity. The dust clouds in his paintings symbolise the universality of life and death, embodying the majesty of nature’s grandeur. This serves as an aesthetic reference to the philosophical school of The Sublime. Despite the unbalanced, snapshot-like compositions of the fishermen, Moses’s paintings maintain overall harmony.