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Viewing Ken Nwadiogbu: Journey Mercies, The Bomb Factory Art Foundation

The Wick Culture - Ken Nwadiogbu: Journey Mercies

Above Ken Nwadiogbu: Journey Mercies

The Bomb Factory Art Foundation

8 — 25 July 2021

Nigerian artist Ken Nwadiogbu is the subject of a new solo show at The Bomb Factory Art Foundation in London. Central to the presentation is an installation of stacked cardboard boxes. Each box is painted with the face of someone the artist has met on his travels.

For Nwadiogbu, it is a metaphor for global trade and the migrant experience: ‘Our individual lives may be self-contained but, essentially, we stand on each other’s shoulders journeying to a different continent and bringing with us values that shape the culture and ideas of these spaces’.

Painted in vibrant colours, the boxes stack in a way that references traditional African woven fabrics, while the title of the exhibition pays homage to the Nigerian custom of saying prayers for a traveller about to embark on a long journey.

‘Journey Mercies highlights the struggles and joys, gains and losses of Migration,’ explains the artist. ‘This is particularly applicable to those of us with dreams, values and hope who flee our countries due to the insecurity, lack of infrastructure, and scarcity. But the stacked structures we build are intact. The communities are rich with diversity and beauty.’

Viewing Paula Rego, Tate Britain

The Wick Culture - The Soldiers Daughter

Above The Soldiers Daughter

The Wick Culture - The Policemans Daughter

Above The Policemans Daughter

The Wick Culture - The Devil Cat Three Little Devils Tied with White Thread

Above The Devil Cat Three Little Devils Tied with White Thread

The Wick Culture - Cast of Characters from Snow White

Above Cast of Characters from Snow White

Above The Soldiers Daughter

Above The Policemans Daughter

Above The Devil Cat Three Little Devils Tied with White Thread

Above Cast of Characters from Snow White

Tate Britain

7 July — 24 October 2021

Paul Rego has made her name telling tales on canvas. ‘I always need a story,’ she said. ‘Without a story, I can’t get going.’ Thrillingly for Londoners, many of her most powerful visual narratives are now on show at Tate Britain in the largest UK retrospective of her work to date.

Spanning all six decades of her boundary-breaking career, this exhibition sheds light on her extraordinary imagination, tireless experimentation with styles and media, and commitment to denouncing socio-political injustices.

Take Interrogation (1950), for instance, a torrid canvas depicting a woman cowering at the hands of her torturers, which she painted aged 15 under the Estado Novo, the brutal dictatorship led by António de Oliveira Salazar. Then there’s Salazar Vomiting the Homeland (1960), a grotesque later response to the repression of living under the Portuguese regime.

But it also explores her lifelong preoccupation with the female experience: betrayal, domestic abuse, motherhood, obedience in marriage and abortion are among the powerful themes she brazenly confronts. Dog Woman (1994), in which a woman snarls on all fours, is a standout highlight.

A blend of the personal, universal and mythical, Rego’s art is raw and unflinching. It can be frustratingly difficult to decipher at times but persevere and you’ll be spectacularly rewarded.

Viewing The Sublime in Nature

The Wick Culture - The Sublime in Nature, 24 Cork Street

Above The Sublime in Nature, 24 Cork Street

The Sublime in Nature
24 Cork Street, London

16 June — 10 July 2021

On show at 24 Cork Street is a brilliant group exhibition of works by contemporary artists inspired by the grandeur and majesty of raw natural beauty. Curated by Daniel Malarkey in collaboration with leading galleries such as Victoria Miro, Maureen Paley and Kasmin Gallery, it urges us as a society to step back and reflect on our new-fangled reality.

Specially commissioned works by Patrizio di Massimo and Tancredi di Carcaci that explore the relationship between humanity and the natural world are shown alongside exquisite paintings by Celia Paul and Gladys Nilsson. Also on display is a magnificent bronze candelabra by Claude Lalanne, the French sculptor and designer most widely known for her surreal sculptures inspired by organic forms. The result is rich and diverse — and offers a welcome retreat from the hustle and bustle of our increasingly busy new normal.