Mavic Chijioke Okeugo’s “Focus Tale”
The African Centre, London, proudly hosted “Focus Tale,” a compelling solo fine art photography exhibition by visual artist Mavic Chijioke Okeugo, which ran from February 5 to February 11, 2024. The exhibition concluded to strong attendance, critical engagement, and vibrant dialogue, marking a significant moment in contemporary African photography within the UK cultural landscape. “Focus Tale” presented a thoughtfully curated body of photographic works that explored themes of identity, memory, movement, and lived experience, using visual storytelling as a tool for reflection and connection. Through a refined fine-art lens, Okeugo invited viewers to pause, observe, and engage deeply with narratives often overlooked or fleeting in everyday life. Throughout the week-long exhibition, visitors from diverse backgrounds gathered at the African Centre to experience the works firsthand. The opening reception and subsequent guided walkthroughs fostered meaningful conversations around African visual culture, diaspora perspectives, and the role of photography as both documentation and poetic expression. Guests praised the exhibition’s emotional resonance, cinematic composition, and the artist’s ability to balance intimacy with universality. Speaking on the exhibition’s conclusion, Mavic Chijioke Okeugo reflected: “Focus Tale is about stillness and intention about seeing beyond the obvious and allowing stories to unfold naturally. Exhibiting this body of work at the African Centre was deeply meaningful, as it created space for shared reflection and dialogue.” The African Centre provided an ideal setting for “Focus Tale,” aligning with its mission to celebrate African and African-diaspora creativity while supporting contemporary voices shaping global narratives. The exhibition further reinforced London’s position as a vital hub for African art and cultural exchange. Following the success of “Focus Tale,” plans are underway for future showings, publications, and continued exploration of the project in new contexts.
Marvic Chijioke Okeugo, Photographer, Active Member of the African Artists’ Foundation (AAF)
Marvic Chijioke Okeugo is a contemporary photographer and visual storyteller whose work engages culture, identity, and lived African experiences through a thoughtful visual lens. He has been an active member of the African Artists’ Foundation (AAF) since January 2022, aligning his creative practice with one of Africa’s most influential contemporary art institutions. The African Artists’ Foundation (AAF) is a leading non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion and development of contemporary African art. Founded by renowned curator Azu Nwagbogu, the foundation has played a significant role in shaping Africa’s visual culture through exhibitions, festivals, artist development programs, and international collaborations. AAF supports artists working across photography, fine art, multimedia, and curatorial practice, with a strong emphasis on artistic excellence, cultural relevance, and social engagement. Over the years, AAF has been associated with and has supported a network of highly respected African artists and photographers whose works have achieved both local and international recognition. These include George Osodi, an award-winning documentary photographer known for his powerful visual narratives on social and political issues; Andrew Esiebo, a globally recognized photojournalist whose work explores African identity, resilience, and everyday life; and Yagazie Emezi, a visual storyteller celebrated for her intimate documentation of culture, gender, and social justice themes. The foundation has also been linked with photographers such as Akintunde Akinleye, whose work focuses on documentary and lifestyle photography with strong cultural depth; Tam Fiofori, a veteran photojournalist widely regarded for his historical documentation of Nigeria’s political and cultural landscape; and Tunde Owolabi, a contemporary photographer and visual artist whose work blends storytelling with experimental approaches to African narratives. Collectively, these artists represent the depth, diversity, and global relevance of the AAF creative community. AAF operates on clear artistic criteria, supporting creatives whose work demonstrates originality, conceptual strength, consistency, and relevance to contemporary African realities. Photographers are particularly encouraged to use their practice as tools for documentation, storytelling, and cultural preservation. As a photographer, Marvic Chijioke Okeugo’s practice aligns closely with these values. Since joining the foundation in 2022, he has remained actively engaged within its creative ecosystem, contributing to and benefiting from a community committed to collaboration, professional growth, and artistic integrity. Marvic’s continued involvement with the African Artists’ Foundation places him among a respected network of African creatives working collectively to advance photography and visual storytelling as powerful instruments of representation, dialogue, and cultural memory.
Bloodline in Bold Print: A Solo Exhibition by Goodluck Jane in Kampala, Uganda
Afriart Gallery is pleased to present Bloodline in Bold Print, a solo exhibition by Nigerian multidisciplinary visual artist Goodluck Jane, opening at Afriart Gallery, Kampala, from October 1 to October 7, 2021. The exhibition brings together a compelling body of work that explores ancestry, inheritance, and identity as evolving processes shaped by memory, material, and cultural transmission. Rooted in an intimate engagement with African textiles particularly Ankara Bloodline in Bold Print positions fabric as both subject and medium. Rather than serving as decorative surface, textile functions as a living archive: a carrier of memory, a witness to lived experience, and a conduit through which stories of lineage are preserved, altered, and reimagined. Through this material language, Jane reflects on how everyday objects hold complex narratives of belonging, origin, and continuity. The exhibition considers bloodline not solely as a biological inheritance, but as a layered framework through which identity is formed. Jane examines emotional memory, cultural practices, social expectations, and unspoken histories as forms of inheritance that quietly shape individuals and communities. These invisible transmissions often overlooked in daily life are brought into focus through works that invite viewers to reflect on the legacies they carry, consciously or otherwise. African textiles occupy a central role within Jane’s visual language as markers of cultural belonging and collective memory. Their familiarity draws viewers in, while their symbolic weight encourages deeper engagement. Within many African contexts, textiles communicate history, status, emotion, and ritual. By foregrounding these materials, Jane highlights their role as tools through which culture is expressed, negotiated, and sustained. With Bloodline in Bold Print, Afriart Gallery continues its commitment to supporting contemporary African artists whose practices critically engage with history, material culture, and lived experience. The exhibition underscores the gallery’s dedication to fostering conceptually grounded artistic practices that expand contemporary discourse. Through Goodluck Jane’s visually striking and thoughtful body of work, Bloodline in Bold Print offers audiences an opportunity for sustained reflection on lineage, memory, and self-definition reminding us that identity is not only inherited, but continually shaped through lived experience.
Bloodline in Bold Print: A Solo Exhibition by Goodluck Jane in Kampala, Uganda
Afriart Gallery is pleased to present Bloodline in Bold Print, a solo exhibition by Nigerian multidisciplinary visual artist Goodluck Jane, opening at Afriart Gallery, Kampala, from October 1 to October 7, 2021. The exhibition brings together a compelling body of work that explores ancestry, inheritance, and identity as evolving processes shaped by memory, material, and cultural transmission. Rooted in an intimate engagement with African textiles particularly Ankara Bloodline in Bold Print positions fabric as both subject and medium. Rather than serving as decorative surface, textile functions as a living archive: a carrier of memory, a witness to lived experience, and a conduit through which stories of lineage are preserved, altered, and reimagined. Through this material language, Jane reflects on how everyday objects hold complex narratives of belonging, origin, and continuity. The exhibition considers bloodline not solely as a biological inheritance, but as a layered framework through which identity is formed. Jane examines emotional memory, cultural practices, social expectations, and unspoken histories as forms of inheritance that quietly shape individuals and communities. These invisible transmissions often overlooked in daily life are brought into focus through works that invite viewers to reflect on the legacies they carry, consciously or otherwise. African textiles occupy a central role within Jane’s visual language as markers of cultural belonging and collective memory. Their familiarity draws viewers in, while their symbolic weight encourages deeper engagement. Within many African contexts, textiles communicate history, status, emotion, and ritual. By foregrounding these materials, Jane highlights their role as tools through which culture is expressed, negotiated, and sustained. With Bloodline in Bold Print, Afriart Gallery continues its commitment to supporting contemporary African artists whose practices critically engage with history, material culture, and lived experience. The exhibition underscores the gallery’s dedication to fostering conceptually grounded artistic practices that expand contemporary discourse. Through Goodluck Jane’s visually striking and thoughtful body of work, Bloodline in Bold Print offers audiences an opportunity for sustained reflection on lineage, memory, and self-definition reminding us that identity is not only inherited, but continually shaped through lived experience.
Bodies in Blue: An Ankara Study — A Solo Exhibition by Goodluck Jane
An Ankara Study, a compelling solo exhibition by Nigerian mix media visual artist Goodluck Jane, on view from June 19 to 21, 2021, Dubai, UAE Zawyeh Gallery. The exhibition invites audiences into an immersive exploration of the human body, memory, and cultural heritage through the language of Ankara fabric, positioning textile as both material and metaphor within contemporary African art. In Bodies in Blue, Jane transforms the gallery into a resonant field of texture, pattern, and color. Through meticulous layering, precise motif placement, and a richly modulated blue palette, the artist constructs compositions that oscillate between intimacy and monumentality. Ankara traditionally associated with adornment and everyday life emerges here as a site of narrative depth, carrying histories of identity, emotion, and collective memory. At the heart of the exhibition is the human form, rendered not as a static subject but as a conduit between the personal and the communal. Jane’s figures unfold through folds of fabric, their gestures and silhouettes shaped by repetition, rhythm, and variation. Visitors are invited to “read” the textile surfaces as they would a story tracing patterns that speak of resilience, continuity, and lived experience. The works encourage close looking, rewarding attention with subtle shifts in tone, alignment, and meaning. Blue anchors the exhibition’s emotional and conceptual register. Moving from soft indigo to deep, contemplative navy, Jane’s chromatic range evokes calm, melancholy, and introspection, guiding the eye and shaping the viewer’s movement through the space. The strategic use of repetition and layering establishes a visual cadence, underscoring the artist’s mastery of both technique and narrative construction. Zawyeh Gallery’s thoughtful curation amplifies the exhibition’s impact. Carefully calibrated lighting reveals the tactile nuances of the fabric, while spatial sequencing allows each work to breathe inviting both intimate engagement and an appreciation of scale. The gallery becomes an active participant in the experience, framing the artworks as a cohesive environment rather than isolated objects. Bodies in Blue: An Ankara Study also speaks to broader conversations around contemporary African textiles and their evolving place within global art discourse. By reimagining Ankara as a medium of intellectual and emotional inquiry, Jane challenges conventional hierarchies of material and elevates textile to a powerful vehicle for storytelling. The exhibition foregrounds craftsmanship and process, making visible the labor, precision, and intentionality embedded in each composition. Presented in Dubai’s dynamic, international art landscape, the exhibition creates space for cross-cultural dialogue connecting local and global audiences through shared themes of identity, memory, and the body’s relationship to society. Collectors, curators, artists, and students alike are invited to engage with a practice that bridges heritage and contemporary expression with clarity and depth. With Bodies in Blue: An Ankara Study, Goodluck Jane affirms her position as a vital voice in textile-based contemporary art. Zawyeh Gallery is proud to present this timely exhibition, anticipating the conversations it will spark and the lasting impressions it will leave on audiences encountering the transformative power of fabric reimagined.
Bodies in Blue: An Ankara Study by Goodluck Jane
Dubai, UAE – Zawyeh Gallery is set to host Bodies in Blue: An Ankara Study, a major solo exhibition by Nigerian multidisciplinary visual artist Goodluck Jane, on view from June 19–21, 2021. Known for her innovative fusion of painting, textile manipulation, and mixed media, Jane presents an immersive body of work that explores the human body as a site of memory, identity, and cultural continuity. Bodies in Blue marks a significant moment in Jane’s practice, bringing together years of investigation into materiality, corporeality, and narrative. Using Ankara fabric as both medium and metaphor, the artist transforms textile into an expressive language one that records gesture, emotion, and lived experience. The body in Jane’s work is not merely represented; it becomes a vessel that carries personal histories and collective memory. Central to the exhibition is Jane’s nuanced exploration of the color blue. Moving from delicate, atmospheric tones to deep, contemplative indigos, her palette evokes calm, introspection, melancholy, and endurance. These layered blues frame the human figure and create a visual rhythm that connects individual presence to broader cultural experience. Through repetition, pattern, and silhouette, Ankara is reimagined not as decoration but as a powerful tool of storytelling and remembrance. The exhibition design at Zawyeh Gallery has been carefully conceived to encourage both close observation and spatial immersion. Visitors are invited to engage with the intricate textures of fabric, the layering of motifs, and the interplay between positive and negative space, while also experiencing the architectural scale and compositional flow of the installations. Light, movement, and circulation work together to heighten the sensory and conceptual impact of the work. Beyond its visual richness, Bodies in Blue interrogates the social and cultural meanings embedded in everyday materials. Jane’s practice challenges conventional perceptions of African textiles, demonstrating how Ankara can function as archive, narrative, and intellectual inquiry. Each work reflects on identity, resilience, and the layered histories woven into fabric, where personal, familial, and collective stories intersect. Dubai’s cosmopolitan context provides a compelling platform for the exhibition, inviting collectors, curators, artists, students, and the wider public to engage with contemporary African textile-based practice within a global discourse. The exhibition encourages cross-cultural dialogue and positions African material traditions firmly within contemporary art conversations. Bodies in Blue: An Ankara Study is ultimately an invitation to reconsider the relationship between fabric, body, and memory. Through meticulous craftsmanship and conceptual depth, Goodluck Jane elevates textile into a living, expressive medium one capable of conveying emotion, history, and presence. The exhibition offers a reflective and immersive experience that underscores Jane’s position as a compelling voice in contemporary visual art.
Ųmų Anya (Children of the Eye): A Solo Exhibition by Mavic Chijioke Okeugo
Lagos, Nigeria Rele Gallery presents Ųmų Anya (Children of the Eye), a solo exhibition by fine art photographer Mavic Chijioke Okeugo, on view from April 6–12, 2021. The exhibition introduces a new body of work that meditates on childhood, perception, and the profound act of seeing through youthful eyes. Translated from Igbo, Ųmų Anya Children of the Eye encapsulates the exhibition’s central concerns with vision, awareness, and emotional insight. Okeugo positions children as both subjects and storytellers, crafting images that exist in the liminal space between reality and imagination. Meticulously composed and richly textured, the photographs carry a painterly sensibility that invites sustained looking and quiet reflection. Across scenes of play, movement, and stillness, the works consider how children interpret the world and how memory preserves these early modes of perception. Eschewing sentimentality, Okeugo presents childhood as a site of strength, curiosity, and calm authority encouraging viewers to reassess their own perspectives and reconnect with the discipline of attentive seeing. Installed within Rele Gallery’s minimalist setting, Ųmų Anya (Children of the Eye) unfolds as an immersive visual experience where color, form, and narrative converge with clarity and intent. The exhibition marks a significant moment in Okeugo’s artistic trajectory and contributes meaningfully to contemporary conversations in African fine art photography. The exhibition is open to the public April 6–12, 2021, at Rele Gallery, Lagos. Exhibition DetailsArtist: Mavic Chijioke OkeugoTitle: Ųmų Anya (Children of the Eye)Dates: April 6–12, 2021Venue: Rele Gallery, Lagos