EXHIBITION: Chamberlin Ukenedo Returns with 'Silent Voices'

A mixed media exhibition by Chamberlin Ukenedo will open for public viewing from Saturday, April 8 and runs for three weeks at Quintessence Art Gallery in Ikoyi, Lagos, Nigeria.

In this exhibition, Chamberlin explores non-verbal communication and this he has titled Silent Voices. This is quite a challenging but interesting area of approach since elements of speech transmit various meanings.

He says b”ecause life and art imitate each other, Silent Voices reverberates their mood, spirit, expression and reaction to life as a people. What we do not say or have not said is often times captured and externalized through a gradation of facial manipulations involving the lips, brow, chin, nose, eyes, cheeks and all.

“Silent Voices asserts that the face out there is an art piece; for we cry, we squint, we gaze, we frown, we glaze, we scowl, we pout, we leer, we scoff…at the checkered rhythms of life. When we are stripped of words, the eyes are the messengers of the soul.”

The business dictionary says that non-verbal communication includes pitch, speed, tone, and volume of voice, gestures and facial expressions, body postures, stance and proximity to the listener, eye movements and contact and dress and appearance. In infant, non-verbal communication is learned from social-emotional communication, making the face rather than the voice dominant.

Furthermore, a substantial portion of our communication is non-verbal and every day, we respond to several non-verbal cues and behaviours. It is indeed two third of all our communication.

Chamberlin captures some of our postures, facial expression, eye gaze and gestures in this novel exhibition. The interesting thing about his body of works, is that each time you look at them, your interpretation of the character’s change. You never get tired of having these works in your home or work place. He has used serene and happy colours to affect our emotions and moods positively.

He  also tries to speak for the disenfranchised and marginalised in the society in a refreshing way. Our newly acquired culture in this information age, no doubt places an important role in our non-verbal-communication. It influences our activities and interpersonal interactions.

“As an artist influenced by his environment, my works speak not just for myself, but also for everyone who shares the same existential space, including the disenfranchised. My perception and ability to portray the complexities of human emotions has inspired this body of works about the everyday Nigerian whose condition has forced a new way – a different medium – of expressing the melancholic soul of his life.”

“Quintessence welcomes Chamberlin to its gallery after a long leave of absence from the art scene, since he was sojourning in the advertising world.

Silent Voices is a new age exhibition and a delight for art lovers, critics and collectors. It is a must-see,” says the curator, Moses Ohiomokhare.

Silent Voices is a new age exhibition and a delight for art lovers, critics and collectors. It is a must-see. “So, we keep our eyes open (or peeled), we see eye-to-eye with some but turn a blind. Some people relapse into absent-mindedness and become looku looku! While some are simply the apple of one’s eye. Some are distresses and need help. You may prefer body language but ensure that no one would pull the wool over your eyes. For the shy, timed and introverted rise and shine, your face is an expensive canvass – it has got a voice.”