PHOTOS: Hakeem Salaam, Minika Ohobu showcase Nigerian fabrics at Abuja art exhibition

Hakeem Salaam, a photographer, and Minika Ohobu, a visual artist, on Friday, organised an art exhibition in Abuja.

The exhibition, themed ‘Ili’, which means cloth in Idoma, a tribe in Benue state, held at the Moeshen art gallery in Life Camp, Abuja.

Speaking with TheCable, Salaam said the essence of the exhibition is to showcase Nigerian fabrics.

“The ‘Ili’ art exhibition is to showcase traditional Nigerian fabrics. What we did is to bring them all together in one collection,” Salaam said.

“We discovered that some of these traditional fabrics are fading out, maybe now because of printed fabrics where you have woven fabrics being replaced with printed ones.

“Our idea is to ensure that these things, even if we are going to lose them, we have a record of them, and that is why we have a project on them.

“It is a collaborative work between myself as a photographer and Minika as the artist. We had the body painted so we can make a narrative about the skin and fabric.

“The fabric we believe is an extension of the skin, because you cannot go out without covering your skin. So, we linked the skin and the fabric to make very good art.”

Speaking on the exhibition, Mohamad Khechen, founder of the Moeshen art gallery, said he has spent over 23 years in Nigeria collecting art works.

Khechen, a Lebanese national and an engineer, said he loves working with artists, adding that he established the Moeshen foundation, a non-profit organisation, in 2017 to promote contemporary African art.

“I love being in the company of artists. Art gives me some disconnection from my main work. I’m an engineer by profession. Most of my friends in Nigeria are artists,” Khechen said.

“I feel very happy; I forget everything related to my work or other things when I’m within the art scene.

“And actually, I have been in Nigeria for 24 years. I came for a job of two years to collect African art as much as I can and leave. That two years is yet to end and it’s clear I’m not willing to leave; I’m staying here.”

See photos below.