By Henry Akubuiro
The multiple works of six artists – Emmah Mbanefo, Chinwe Uwatse, Obi Okigbo, JC Bright, Mobolaji Otuyelu, and Chiagoziem Orji –engaged in reclaiming marginalised narratives surrounding Africa’s ancestral legacy and history, will be showcased in a group exhibition entitled “Anyanwu: The New Light,” from September 6-28, 2025, at National Museum, Onikan, Lagos.
It is about new understandings of humanity and connecting with ancestral roots. It also engages process of healing, restoring collective and personal equilibriums. Organised by Art Bridge Project, the group exhibition presents a multisensory experience and intergenerational convergence centered around the intersection of human destiny, cosmic forces and the metaphysical philosophies embedded in Igbo cosmology.
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In his contribunion to the gathering, Mbanefo presents a sculpture titled Ókpùlúkpu, which is a sacred treasure box in Onitsha ethnography, maintaining a prominent position on the altar before the throne of the patrilineage priest in Onitsha. As a treasure box, Ókpùlúkpu serves as the repository of an ancestor’s ofo (staff), and the ancestor can be ritually evoked to enter its chamber; as such, it symbolises an ancestral house in microcosm.
Uwatse described each of her work as “an encapsulation of a mood, an emotion. The basic flow of akala na ejikoba ife nine—the lines that bind dreams, vision, reality; make the intangible tangible.” The works include a suite of paintings dated 1991–2019 that reflect her affinity with Uli designs, as well as personal narratives and social commentary shaped by the Nigerian civil war and the resilience of women in today’s world. The paintings function as emotional landscapes and vivid dreamscapes of the artist.
From Okigbo comes a Remembrance of I AM, a series that features collages of Kivu sculptures from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in the collection of the African Museum in Tervuren, Belgium. The theme is set against a backdrop of cosmic landscapes. from which Okigbo broadly stages an artistic intervention for African artifacts frozen in the collections of Western museums, while reflecting on the ancestral legacy and knowledge systems embedded in these objects.
For JC Bright’s contribution to the show, it’s a new body of work from his Erigwara series, which explores the Igbo tradition of food-sharing as a gesture of communion, memory, and kinship. This tradition involves mass visitation among relatives and friends on specific market days, particularly during Christmas, when community members exchange specially prepared meals.
Otuyelu presents a large-scale clay pot with feminine features alluding to women’s role as nourishers and the healing energy of mother earth. Otuyelu draws from this sensibility to engage with the notion of sankofa—returning to our roots, in this context, mother nature, earth, clay, and soil. The artist explores the figurative resonances of both fragility and resilience found in clay—speaking to the cyclicity of life.
There is a shift from the traditional textures as Orji presents a body of work titled Ike Ndu, a series of digital paintings that channel the rhythmic energy of Igbo dance and masquerade. In Orji’s paintings, each dancer embodies their Chi (guardian angel) as their spiritual force.
Supported by partners such as Ime-Obi Onitsha, National Commission for Museums and Monuments Nigeria (NCMM), Adegbola Art Projects, and National Council for Art and Culture (NCAC), the exhibition also received a royal blessing. “This ambitious project has devoted tremendous energy to field research, meticulous scholarship, and the continuum of Igbo cultural studies,” Obi of Onitsha, His Royal Majesty, Igwe Nnaemeka Alfred Ugochukwu Achebe, CFR, mni Agbogidi stated. “It is a celebration of our ancestral history and legacy, while reflecting the broader cultural matrix of Nigeria and Africa.”
Curator, Tony Agbapuonwu, disclosed that transcending the physical exhibition space of “Anyanwu: The New Light” culminates in the creation of archival resources, including a book-catalogue, compiling the artistic works, research findings, and reflections from artists, scholars, curators and historians.” Agbapuonwu, specifically explained the documentation aspect of the project. “The publication is complemented with a short-film documentary about Igbo cosmology and the importance of cultural presentation in today’s world. The entire project is a celebration of the Igbo worldview, while reflecting the broader cultural matrix of Nigeria and Africa.”
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