Aindrea Emelife Instagram – Last week marked the 60th Venice Biennale. Earlier in the year, Elephant writer Shaquille Heath (@_shaqy) spoke with curator, Aindrea Emelife (@aindreaemelife) , and renowned artist, Yinka Shonibare (@shonibarestudio), about the Nigerian pavilion.
“The two, who have both split their lives between Nigeria and London, talk slowly with me on a Monday afternoon, crowds of Londoners swelling outside their respective apartments celebrating the Summer bank holiday. But inside, these two were a land away, transporting us to the heart of Lagos, and conspiring on how to transmit that pulse to Venice in 2024.
It is remarkable to watch Emelife and Shonibare go back and forth in lockstep, and it is clear that they share the same artistic vision and aspirations for the pavilion. “I think that’s something that’s really fundamental to me. The historical and heritage,” shared Shonibare. “Where have we come from? Why are we where we are today? And what’s the impact of the past on the present? Those things are very important, because until we start to actually understand the past, it’s almost impossible to understand the present.”
Shaquille Heath (@_shaqy) records the thoughts and processes between Aindrea Emelife (@aindreaemelife) and Yinka Shonibare (@shonibarestudio) prior to the landmark exhibition of the most ambitious Nigerian pavilion to date. Live on the site now.
Photos by: @james_re | Posted on 24/Apr/2024 03:07:22
