Chidi Kwubiri has lived and worked in Germany since the 1990s, but hasn’t lost sight of his homebase, as he regularly visits Nigeria. Hence, “Whenever there is any opportunity to come to Nigeria to exhibit, I take it seriously, because it is an additional blessing to be received by your people and for your roots to understand your art,” said Kwubiri at the recent media preview of Luminous Presence, his solo exhibition taking place at Alexis Galleries, 282, Akin Olugbade Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Curated by Uche Obasi, Luminous Presence opens for public viewing on Saturday, October 26, and runs till November 9, 2024. Aside from the first day of the exhibition, which kicks off at 1 pm and closes at 6pm, it is open to the public from 10 am to 6 pm daily from Monday to Saturday. Alexis Galleries is the brainchild of Patty Chidiac-Mastrogiannis.
The curatorial statement by Obasi stated, “Through an absorbing display of gestural beams of pulsating colours and composition in his paintings, Chidi Kwubiri invites us into the inner worlds, where search for self-illumination and self-discovery intertwine; from the illuminating pursuit of reconnection with oneself to the infinite possibilities that lies therein.
“Luminous Presence is a virtually stimulating collection that delves into the human experience with the soul of light and colour, probing the boundaries between our connectedness to light and colour, and our place within.”
Shedding light on the Luminous Presence, Kwubiri said, “It’s an effort for me to dive into life, light and energy to work and try to explore how this light energy impacts our lives. Luminous Presence is an attempt to capture that spark in us, the glow around us and also the luminance that connects us, because light is a universal language. It speaks to our souls. It fuels growth. It illuminates our paths and also, if it is mishandled, it could also be dangerous to us. Every good thing has a disadvantage when handled falsely.’
“Come to Life”, one of the works Kwubiri is exhibiting, is a depiction of the scandalous murder of the black American, George Floyd, in 2020 by white police officers, which sparked protests and Black Lives Matters Movement that resonates globally. Kwubiri explained, “Without light, there is no life. That ugly incident that happened in 2020 ignited a spark in me; I couldn’t get this image when he was dying and gasping for life, and it was taken out of him. That ugly picture stuck in me for a long time.
“Like an artist, I like to capture an event, whether good or bad and try to fix them. My intention was not just to get the image of George Floyd in an abstract way, but I decided to capture it the way it is; and I called it ‘Come to Life’, he said, adding that Floyd’s death elicited discussions around racism and justice, which, hitherto, were muted.
“Circumcision ”, another work of his, is a metaphorical campaign against female genital mutilation. He explained, “I look at our society; I look at violence, and I wonder if people are seeing that, how you make your bed is how you are going to lie on it. This violence starts from somewhere. It hurts me to see a scar on anybody. But the worst part of this circumcision is that it leaves a scar on girls that are not visible for the rest of their lives,out of sheer ignorance and cruelty on part of our culture,” he said.
Kwubiri will be exhibiting 17 works, some of them a series. The virtuoso artist basically works with acrylic on canvas, and loves deploying dripping techniques to a magical effect, something like an organised chaos.
