Wura-Natasha Ogunji: Statues Also Love

by Ladun Ogidan
- Olmecs and Ifes Follow the Sun, 2015, thread, ink, graphite on trace paper, 152.5x61cm each, 4 panels. Image: www.50golborne-artdesign.com
- Yemaya Y Ochun, 2015, thread, ink, graphite on trace paper, 122x61cm. Image: www.50golborne-artdesign.com
Statues Also Love is Wura-Natasha Ogunji’s first solo exhibition in London featuring a new series of work inspired from her daily interactions in the urban city of Lagos. The exhibition runs from June 12 to July 18 at 50 Golborne, London and consists of her unique drawing practice of daintily stitched drawings on paper, used to illustrate the unexpected moments of beauty that arise from the constant motion and sounds of the megacity.
According to the gallery statement “The drawings-delicate stitched works on paper- speak about moments of beauty that arise from the constant motion and sound of the city. Within the charged density of the megalopolis, Ogunji takes note of the human capacity to connect in both tender and magical ways. Ife heads, Gelede masks and Olmec-faced figures suggest the ways in which the sacred and profane, the traditional and futuristic exist simultaneously in all moments.”
The show is accompanied by a performance And Fight with Wura-Natasha Ogunji and Mary Okon Ononokpono on Golborne Road, followed by an artist talk.
- Kissing That Final Ghost Goodbye, 2015, thread, ink, graphite on trace paper, 52.75x60cm. Image: www.50golborne-artdesign.com
- Statues also (Frankie Knuckles, Your Love), 2015, thread, ink, graphite on trace paper, 62.25x61cm each, 2 panels. Image: www.50golborne-artdesign.com
Wura-Natasha Ogunji is a visual and performing artist. Her works include drawings, videos and public performances. Select exhibitions include: Future Reflexions, The Arches Glasgow, UK; That’s Not the Atlantic (There’s a Disco Ball between Us), and Six Draughtsmen, MoCADA, New York. Ogunji’s performances have been featured at the Gordon Institute of Performing and Creative Arts, Cape Town; Centre for Contemporary Art, Lagos; The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts, St. Louis; and the Menil Collection, Houston. Ogunji is a recipient of the prestigious Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship (2012) and has received grants from The Pollock-Krasner Foundation, New York; The Dallas Museum of Art; and the Idea Fund, Houston. She has a BA in Anthropology from Stanford University (1992,) and an MFA in Photography from San Jose State University (1998).
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