Yinka Olatunbosun
SMO Contemporary Art has announced a new show titled “Neo Custodians,” a virtual exhibition of sixteen paintings, illustrations, hyper realistic drawings and collage by three young artists, Ifeatuanya “Ify” Chiejina, Nwakuso Edozien, and Johnson Eziefula. The trio is set to redefine, interrogate, and celebrate their identity as each artist examines layers of socio-cultural and genealogical influences.
Ify Chiejina, a first-generation American, considers the complexity of being raised by African parents in the west. Her works are part of an ongoing series consisting mostly of self-portraits, each drawing representing different facets of her identity. Nwakuso Edozien, a recently graduated Nigerian-German architect currently based in the United States explores the concept of identity from a generational
point of view. She creates layered portraits and illustrations with finely drizzled three dimensional textures, exploring depth and interconnectedness.
Johnson Eziefula, a graduating senior of the Department of Pharmacy at the University of Lagos, adopts a more scientific approach in a series celebrating cultural hybridity; his hyper realistic portraits emphasise the intersection of a myriad of influences from colonisation to globalisation, and technological socialisation, and their effects on communities and cultures.
