At Thought Pyramid, Emerging Artists Illuminate “Japa” Phenomenon Through Art

Yinka Olatunbosun

At the Thought Pyramid Art Centre in Lagos, a group of young Nigerian artists have come together to explore one of the most talked-about issues shaping the nation’s social fabric Japa, the emigration of Nigerians in search of better opportunities abroad.

Titled “JAPA Film and Art Group Exhibition,” the show, which runs from October 5 to 18 is jointly organised by Thought Pyramid Art Centre and Next of Kin. The exhibition delves into the personal and collective realities behind the Japa phenomenon not merely as statistics or headlines, but as lived experiences told through brushes, sculptures, and bold creative statements.

Curated by Ovie Omatsola, the exhibition draws on the shared stories of its 14 participating artists, each of whom has experienced the ripple effects of migration in deeply personal ways. The group exhibition is showing 52 colourful art works.

“The participating visual artists did not enter this conversation from a distance,” Omatsola explained in his curatorial statement. “They have lived the Japa experience, whether through personal journeys, family separations, or the longing for a better life. The works you see are not mere representations; they are testimonials layered with pain, resilience, longing, and hope.”

According to Omatsola, the project was born out of a personal crisis that mirrored Nigeria’s migration reality. “When urgent care was needed for a close relative, it was hard to find a doctor. The explanation was simple but devastating, they had all Japaed,” he recalled. “That moment demanded reflection: could art respond to this national reality, interrogate its causes, and speak to its consequences?”

From Ikechukwu Ezeigwe’s hopeful expressions to Adeyemi Olalekan and Ademola Ojo’s proverbial visual languages, the exhibition offers viewers a deeply human interpretation of migration. The pieces, while diverse in form, converge on one idea — that migration is not just movement, but a story of struggle, identity, and survival.

Bertha Onyekachi, one of the featured artists, presents deeply emotional works exploring family and memory. Known for her arresting figurative compositions defined by intersecting cubic lines, her piece “21 Bags of Dreams” captures her father’s migration journey and its emotional toll.

“It’s the story of my father carrying all the dreams of the family, hoping things would get better abroad,” she said. “But when it didn’t, he returned empty-handed to the same family he left behind.”

For Onyekachi, Japa is not just a contemporary trend but part of a long history of African migration, “from the transatlantic slave trade to the Ghana Must Go crisis, and now the Japa pandemic.”

Yet, the young painter also lamented the rising cost of art materials as one of the challenges facing emerging artists in Nigeria. “A tube of oil paint that sold for N2,500 when I was in school now costs about N18,000. For young artists starting out, it’s not easy to sustain a career under such conditions,” she noted.

Another exhibitor, Hassan Abdulazeez Tunde, transforms discarded metals and spoons into stunning sculptures that highlight recycling, identity, and hope. His works draw from Yoruba folklore and African motifs, offering symbolic reflections on renewal.

In “Flight of Potential,” a metallic bird carrying a golden ball, Tunde presents a metaphor for the migration of Nigeria’s youth. “The bird represents Nigerians, while the golden ball symbolises the skills and potential our youths take abroad — talents that should benefit our nation,” he explained.

Solomon Akinire Olaotan’s work, “Societal Suffocation” — made from bonded resin, recycled scraps, and metal pipes depicts a man on life support, drawing oxygen from miniature figures below. “It speaks to oppression and the struggle to survive,” the artist said. “Many Nigerians are gasping for air, trying hard to meet their needs, often without success.”

For Jeff Ajueshi, Founder and Artistic Director of Thought Pyramid Art Centre, the exhibition is more than a showcase, it is a social statement about responsibility and continuity in the art ecosystem.

“The JAPA exhibition brings together fourteen remarkable artists — all alumni of the Next of Kin Art Competition,” Ajueshi said. “Too often, emerging artists are celebrated briefly and then abandoned. We want to change that. Discovery must be followed by development; competition must give way to community.”

He emphasised that platforms like Next of Kin must continue to support artists to reduce the push factors that drive many to leave the country. “If young creatives are mentored, visible, and empowered to grow, then perhaps the urgency to Japa would diminish,” he added.

Ajueshi continued, “As the exhibition continues to draw art lovers and art collectors, it has become clear that Japa is not just a national issue, it is a mirror reflecting Nigeria’s socio-economic pulse. Through paint, metal, and emotion, these artists invite viewers to look beyond the act of leaving, and instead, imagine what it means to stay to build, to belong, and to create.”