1. 54 | Essential Interiors
Yellow Sun:
Contemporaries
The New
T
ell us a bit about how Yellow Sun came about.
To launch Avenir Africa in Nigeria, I felt I needed to do some-
thing more than just your usual celebrity champagne party. It
needed to be arty, and meaningful. I wanted to launch in a way that
without opening a copy of Avenir you can visualize and experience
the art we publish in the magazine. This was the birth of Yellow Sun;
The New Contemporaries.
Avenir focuses solely on emerging new contemporary artists so it
is important for us to reflect this in the exhibition. Yellow Sun is a
dynamic group show featuring some of the best new contemporary
artists from the UK, US, France, South Korea and Nigeria, all under
30.
You’re based in the UK, why did you choose to have the exhibition
in Nigeria?
Most Nigerians born and bred abroad tend to have a disconnect
with their roots – my mother made it a priority that this will never
be the case for my siblings and I so we spent long summers in Port
Harcourt. I am extremely passionate about Nigerian arts and culture
especially in my hometown Port- Harcourt. Lagos is an emerging and
very vibrant city so it made perfect sense to exhibit all these Interna-
tional artists in Lagos rather than having established Nigerian artists
exhibit abroad. I thought lets bring the art world here, as there is
such a big spotlight on African, in particular Nigerian art. I hosted a
panel discussion during START art fair at The Saatchi Gallery – and
the topic was all about emerging cities such as Lagos, Istanbul and
Singapore.
It’s lovely to be supported by global brands such as Guaranty Trust
Bank and Daniel Ford International, like Avenir they believe in emerg-
ing artists and engage in ways to globalize the Lagos art scene.
Central Saint Martins – here we have direct access to the best new
artists.
Many of the artists in Yellow Sun are artists we have featured in the
magazine such as Sang Woo Kim, Tristan Pigott and Ewa Wilczynski
who was on the cover of our very first print issue. Kachi Irondi was
recommended to me by Central Saint Martins and Lina Viktor took
part in the recent Avenir Art Auction, auctioned by Sotheby’s in aid
of Jerwood Charitable Foundation.
Why did you name the exhibition ‘Yellow Sun’?
This is probably the first question people ask when they hear of the
show, I guess they immediately think of the legendary author Chim-
amanda Adichie – she is such an inspiration and as a young black girl
I have so much respect for her, for being a powerful voice and role
model.
Yellow Sun – is referencing the African sun, and dances around
various themes such as, heritage, unity, bold, powerful – all of which
reflects the work produced by the artists for this exhibition and the
artists themselves.
What can we expect to see?
Having spent several months in the studio – each artist tells a differ-
ent story using Africa as the binding theme. Lina Viktor will exhibit
stunning self-portraits using 24 karat gold, rich royal blue and black.
In her work you will find various narratives – identity, the strength
and confidence of an African woman, opulence and many more. Ewa
Wilczynski is the youngest artist to have a solo show at The Royal
Academy of Arts, she is has created ‘ African selfies’ selfies of tradi-
tional Nigerian women in their native attire – to add a new dimension
she pours layers of wax over the paintings, the end product is raw
and beautiful. At Yellow Sun; you can also expect to see sculptures,
- Kachi Irondi plays around with clay into these stunning wall pieces.
These artists are young and extremely talented – their works have
been exhibited globally, with work in museums and private collec-
tions. They are excited to be exhibiting in Nigeria for the first time.

2. How did you choose what artists to feature?
In Avenir magazine my editors and I work closely with art institutions
such as Jerwood, Art Caitlin, Degree Art and the iconic
Contemporary African art is selling at record prices right now,
what do you think has contributed to this shift?
I believe a number of factors have contributed to this success, the
collectors, the press and the artists themselves. Collectors such
as Robert Devereux, Prince Yemisi Shyllon and Sammy Olagbaji are
truly remarkable – they have been collecting African art before it
became so mainstream and trendy, now several seasoned art collec-
tors are spotted at auction houses and fairs investing in African art.
The niche art press tend to follow the collectors so if a wave of new
African art collectors are showing up – major art publications/news-
papers, such as Apollo, Art Review, FT and Art Newspaper will take
note of this. They begin to ask ‘Who are the artists’ suddenly the
artists are in all the major press, then the curators, gallerists and the
rest of the art world take an interest. African art becomes popular
and in demand so the prices go up.
What Nigerian contemporary artists would you say are ‘ones to
watch?’
I adore the work of Babajide Olatunji, Emeka Ogboh thinks outside
the box and is incredibly innovative – I love his spirit, Ndidi Emefiele is
also a personal favourite, she is doing so well internationally.
What do you think the future holds for Contemporary African Art?
So much, this is just the beginning. Africans are quite dedicated
individuals so this will not be a short-lived trend – African art will
continue to be recognized and appreciated globally.
What can we expect from Avenir Africa?
Avenir Africa Magazine, just like the UK edition will feature the
works of emerging new contemporary artists in Africa, with an
overall emphasis on Nigeria and South Africa. It will focus on the
untapped niche such as poetry, literature, architecture and design,
food. Musically South Africa and Nigeria are on fire right now, and the
fashion and film industry in Nigeria is definitely worth talking about.
This seems like the best time to publish a magazine on Nigerian arts,
everything happening now is worth documenting.
Are you thinking of holding future exhibitions in Nigeria?
Absolutely – we have future art projects with the Rivers State
Government, and planned exhibition in Port Harcourt in 2016. As
a ‘newbie’ in the Nigerian art scene I have mentors such as Oliver
Enwonwu (Director of Omenka Gallery and son of the late iconic
artist Ben Enwonwu) Dr Newton Jibunoh (Didi Museum), collectors
Prince Yemisi Shyllon and Sir Sammy Olagbaju – I respect Madame
Nike of Nike Art Gallery and Caline Chagoury (Art Twenty One) – it’s
important to look at what others have done and seek advice when
working in a new territory.
ABOUT THE CURATORS
Marine Tanguy is one of the youngest art dealers of her genera-
tion, and specialises in new contemporary art. Having successfully
created two art galleries in Los Angeles and London, Marine is soon
to open a third venture in Dhaka. She promotes her own coterie of
emerging artists by curating shows internationally, contributing to
art publications and placing works in established collections.
Vanessa Power is one of the youngest magazine publishers of her
generation and specialises in new contemporary art and youth
culture. She is also a consultant to TV, radio and art organizations.
Power is also the successful founder of Avenir Magazine in the Unit-
ed Kingdom and soon launching Avenir Africa.
Together they aim to insure that new contemporary art is given the
presence and stature it deserves among a culture and economy of
more established contemporary artists, often overly represented on
the international art scene, to the neglect of emergent young talent.