Samuel Nnorom – Truth and Conspiracy

Mostra personale.

Comunicato stampa

Primo Marella Gallery Milan is pleased to present for the first time at our gallery in Milan the huge solo show dedicated to SAMUEL NNOROM.

Truth and Conspiracy as the theme of this exhibition suggest is a studio exploration that interrogate that metaphorical quality of material and technique into the materiality of creative existence to convey artistic response. The theme derives from the rolling, concealing and unconcealing the nature of bubbles with African print wax fabric popularly known as Ankara fabric that is stitched to constitute the visual and formal element that embodies the body of work under discourse. In other words, concealing material could mean conspiracy against materiality while unconcealing material could also be refer to as being truth to materiality. However, these two word “truth” and “conspiracy” becomes the pilot to the discourse of material and process of this exhibition.

Samuel Nnorom, Rhythms and Blues, 2022
African wax print fabric, 104 × 115 × 15 cm

The major material constituent in the production of Truth and Conspiracy is African print wax fabric. African print wax fabric drew its foundation from the vacillating origin of Ankara fabric in Africa. It was said that Ankara fabric originated from Indonesia but was brought to Africa by the colonial masters who found Africa as a dumping ground for the rejected fabrics in Europe. Also, it was believed to have come from a city called Ankara in turkey. But most African historian agreed that its design, motif and colours are African, these uncertainties, gave rise to the manipulation of the story either to please the African’s or to glorify the white (colonial masters Europeans).

Ankara fabric can be adaptable on many items such as hats, earrings, blazers, and shoes etc. which many fashion brands and fabric suppliers have manufactured ankara prints on fabrics. These backgrounds hold important clues to the conceptual content of works in this project. Bubbles are elements or structure that holds or store something for a period of time, respectively. Conjoining the vacillating history of Ankara fabric and the encased structure of bubble and what it represents; it makes it easier for the audience to contemplate the individual statement every piece entertains, laid to the terrain upon which the artist narrates his creative discourse.

Samuel Nnorom, Salvaging the Land, 2022
African wax print fabric, 256,5 × 221,5 × 16 cm

However, a coin has two sides and any of these sides can only be used as legal tender, if and only if it is not separated from each other, which implies that only one side of a coin can never operate on its own independently of the other side no matter the value the currency bears; but if it does, it loses its efficacy, authenticity and value of being a legal tender. In line with the above analogy, this series Truth and Conspiracy, draw its inspiration from the events of 2020, a post-pandemic era that has led the world to experience some levels of paradigm shift following the COVID19 pandemic, Black Lives matter, End SARS protest in Nigeria, American Election saga, and the current political, insecurities and economic global crisis which has led to so many conspiracies and truth been inter-twined together.
- Text by Samuel Nnorom