What can the human head tell us about who we are, what we inherit and who we are becoming? These questions lie at the heart of ORI II, the second edition of the biennial of contemporary Nigerian sculpture, which brings 30 Nigerian sculptors, masters and rising talents alike to Quintessence Gallery in Lagos, Nigeria.
Fragments of Our Existence, a group exhibition, brings together Ebuka Anyiam, Celesta Jonah, Idris Olabode Opeyemi and Okediji Femi at Alexis Galleries in Lagos, Nigeria, this September. The exhibition opens on Saturday, September 19, 2026, and runs until October 3 at Alexis Galleries, 282 Akin Olugbade Street, off Idowu Martins, Victoria Island. By Udemma Chukwuma
Chris Tembele enters already transformed, his body wrapped and his face entirely obscured beneath a fan of palm fronds. In a costume that reads less like disguise and more like abdication, he empties himself of his own individual identity so that he can become an officiant, a vessel through whom grief for absent parents can move rather than a performer grieving on their behalf.
This is particularly striking in his treatment of Lagos, one of Nigeria's most visually overwhelming cities. Its streets are crowded with vehicles, traders, buildings, signs and competing movements, yet Ankeli repeatedly quietens that chaos, translating noise into atmosphere. Traffic becomes rhythm. Crowds become silhouettes. Roads become reflections. Rain becomes a visual language.
