Gallery B57 opens the doors of its new space. The inaugural exhibition, “Ghosts of Bar Beach”, is a solo show by Ade Adekola. The exhibition provides a Post Documentary perspective to the history of Bar Beach, it looks at how a contemporary artist deals with the concept of nostalgia and memory.
Colour, the Colourful and the Spectacular…
“our inaugural exhibition explores nostalgia and memory; colour, the colourful and the spectacular. Bar beach conjures up several aspects of nostalgia from the 1500s with the naming of its environs as ‘Lago du Curamo’; to the 1800s with the British bombardment of Lagos; up to the 1970’s where it was a place of the spectacle of death.”
Bar beach’s long history as a beach, was truncated by the development of Eko Altantic City. The remastered images in this exhibition are presented with their electrifying colours to provide access to moments of nostalgia and memories of “bar-beach moods” lost for good.
Ade’s body of work is defined as “Post Documentary”, because of the long-time interval between shooting the images and creating the remastered works. The images do not document events but memories of a colourful past. Each image comes alive and creates a spark of resonance, sometimes in a slow meditative and contemplative pace.
Ade’s symbolic gesture of layering his images, creating ghosting and the use of vibrant colours fit with the idea of time, nostalgia and loss that are consistent with the history of the Bar Beach.
Come experience Ghost of Bar Beach in Gallery B57’s distinctive contemporary art space from 28th of October to November 10th, 2018. Our space is as forward looking as the works on display.
About Ade Adekola
He spent several years in Silicon Valley where he witnessed the dawn of the digital transformation of photography. At this juncture, Ade started to explore the transformative power offered by innovations in photography. His enthusiasm was captured, and his experimental photography practice was born. Moving back to Nigeria in 2005 his creative emphasis shifted, as he started to concentrate on creating elevating images that reframe and redefine the Nigerian Cultural narrative.
As an image maker, photography is more his medium than it is his craft. His practice is aimed at conceiving, orchestrating and delivering images so charged that one may experience them as objects. Typical in his work is the use of vibrant and at times electrifying colors.
His photography can be considered as performative; it refers to and creates vibrant memories of a time, questioning the boundaries between individual and collective experiences. His images are considered to elevate the visual plateau of Nigerian photography.
His works are documented in several publications and are collected worldwide.
About Gallery B57
Gallery B57 is a unique exhibition space and pop-up venue, ideally located in Victoria Island to cater to the creative industries and the culturally progressive. The gallery programme is geared to visual arts and photography. B57 showcases world class photography of a progressive and experimental nature by African artist.
The gallery founders said: “The opening of B57 is an affirmation of the ongoing strength of Lagos as a creative and cultural hub. We are immensely excited by the opportunities it gives us to expand our artistic programme and to provide Lagos with even more quality exhibitions of experimental photography. Our gallery is also a platform; it is available to other players in the cultural industries to use. It is a contemporary space that is designed to foster interaction and engagement with the public.”
Please join the conversation with Gallery B57 via the hashtags #GalleryB57 #GOBB #Ghostsofbarbeach #adeadekola
Gallery B57 is open Tuesday to Saturday, 10am—6pm and Sunday, 12—6pm.
For further information, please email [email protected] or call +234 (0)706 400 0003 57 Bishop Oluwole, Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria.
For more information: http://www.GalleryB57.com
Information
Gallery B57
57 Bishop Oluwole Str, Lagos Nigeria
October 28, 2018 to November 21, 2018
