AĂ desokan
BLOOM ART BLOOM Art originated from the visual arts programme of The Life House and was birthed out of a need to use innovative approaches to showcase, expose, and challenge Nigerian artists - particularly in response to the lack of exhibition and expression space in the city of Lagos. Presenting select and exciting works, BLOOM Art's exhibition program offers pointed perspectives of contemporary visual art, its presentation and its engagement with the public thereby contributing to the dynamic development of visual art in Nigeria. Each featured artist is an important part of contemporary dialogue. Currently a unique fusion of a portfolio gallery & a private studio, BLOOM Art offers intimate exhibitions of art in an accessible format that is bolstered by acclaimed ancillary programming tailored to each exhibition. These include artist talks, private salons and publications.Daring to present art in alternative exhibition spaces, BLOOM has enabled an organic interplay with other forms of creative expression as well as the vibrant multiarts scene in Nigeria. BLOOM Art represents Muraina Oyelami, Marcia Kure, Olu Ajayi, Chinwe Uwatse, Lemi Ghariokwu, Gbenga Offo and Angela Isiuwe. BLOOM Art also actively exhibits and works with artists including Victor Ehikhamenor, Kainebi Osahenye, Tony Nsofor, Uchay Joel Chima, Tam Fiofori, and Gerald Chukwuma. BLOOM Art is owned and managed by independent curator and gallerist, Ugoma Adegoke
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AĂ desokan:
Flowers for the Soul
Cover Art: Soothing Despair, 2018. Bronze Polished Steel Plate, 24 cm (9.4 in) Diameter
ABOUT THE ARTIST AĂ desokan (b. 1994, Lagos, Nigeria) creates for revelation, to incite change, any form of it on a supraliminal level. He interrogates the mind: his own mind and its endless perceptions having been exposed to various psychoanalytic methodologies by his psychologist father at an early age. His works usually stem from ceaseless inquisitions realized through research whilst leveraging his background education as an engineer formulating balanced compositions of art, photography, and literature that enshrine all his thoughts and inquiries. Although his expressions are eclectic, they are centered around the discourse of philosophy, analytical psychology and theology which re ect his focus on existentialism, social constructionism, mental health, and various perceptions concerning it.
Haven or Heaven, 2018. Bronze Polished Steel Plate, 24 cm (9.4 in) Diameter
ARTIST STATEMENT Here I am, nding my way towards my soul space again after a plethora of life changing experiences the past eighteen months it has taken to bring you these owers. I have consciously created time loops and within it performed the repeating act of plucking owers, watching them curl and wither away after consuming as much of their essence that my mind could apprehend. Sometimes, sometimes my mortality overwhelms me, I cannot tell you for certain why I paint owers this way but I can tell you that sometimes I dream or perhaps hallucinate about painting these owers and then I wake up to create them. Perhaps, this is me when you get to that beautiful point of nature; when order and chaos merge. With every individual existence there will always be moments of order and moments of chaos. Most times our collective souls are overwhelmed. I have been overwhelmed and I must tell you, I am grateful that I have found owers. A single ower can represent anything and everything if you watch it closely and patiently without any expectations. To learn and use patience, you need patience. I have discarded all that I thought I knew about owers to create owers for you, for the soul. Flowers for the soul embodies all that we feel and from these owers I am able to see the everlasting essence of owers, the uidity of owers even as they wither away, in some way also, I am able to see that point of nature where order and chaos merge. Here I am, with all of these owers I have created, they are on the wall by the window and as the sun goes across the horizon and light falls on each ower, they change, they breathe with life and even when the wind comes, I perceive the fragrance of a real bloom. I must tell you, owers demand attention, and attention is the purest form of generosity. You do not have to be a ower enthusiast to let the ower speak to you, there is a ower for every soul. To pay attention is to receive presence and stillness from which wholeness and togetherness is found. Be well, here is a ower for you.
“All that you have is your soul….”
Untitled II, 2018. Bronze Polished Steel Plate, 24 cm (9.4 in) Diameter
Remembrance, 2018. Bronze Polished Steel Plate, 24 cm (9.4 in) Diameter
Fading Permanence, 2018. Bronze Polished Steel Plate, 24 cm (9.4 in) Diameter
Avalanche of Peace, 2018. Bronze Polished Steel Plate, 24 cm (9.4 in) Diameter
Untitled I, 2018. Bronze Polished Steel Plate, 24 cm (9.4 in) Diameter
Of a Twin Flame, 2018. Bronze Polished Steel Plate, 24 cm (9.4 in) Diameter
Harm and Boon, 2018. Bronze Polished Steel Plate, 24 cm (9.4 in) Diameter
Bowsprit, 2018. Bronze Polished Steel Plate, 24 cm (9.4 in) Diameter
Elegy, 2018. Bronze Polished Steel Plate, 24 cm (9.4 in) Diameter
Loving Soul, I nd your energy in all the things around, you are everywhere, I want to tell you everything, about all that I have lived through. Today, I watch the morning sun radiate warmth, its light lls me and I am reminded that the best way to receive is to give. The wind brings with it the scent of change and here I am, here I am writing this to you, for you, soul. Do you ever remember a time when you encounter a ower? I want to tell you about owers, sometimes you see a ower, other times you see beyond a ower but it takes time and patience to truly perceive a ower. We are most real when we are suering and it is hard to exist that way. Here is a ower for you, to heal the burden of existing, when you look at it, you must know to give peace a chance and let the fear you have fall away. Here is a ower for you, when you are alone and in spaces that nobody can nd you. To indulge in memories, in remembering everything else, you make sure that it is not just pain you have left as memories. Here is a ower for you, when you look at it you will always nd a soul friend within your soul space, a place that you cannot keep but instead keep discovering and losing. It is said that owers can tell all that we cannot and I must tell you, everyone wants to be found. So here are owers for you, for all we have lived through, I do not know whether they will make us feel better. Vide cor meum, will you discover all that the ower embodies? *time and space*
Loving Soul, All life is a journey, here I am writing this to you, I see the sun setting and its color immerses everything and then I look at these owers, all seems still as the sun momentarily goes away and I think about leaving it all behind. Perhaps, there is meaning in the chaos, I must tell you, for all that I have lived through, to still know and not understand this meaning is just wonderful. Here is a ower for your soul. When you look at it you will always nd your soul friend. The spaces you had created, that soul space will always remain, even if your soul friend ceases to exist materially. You have to remember to visit your shared soul space often. You have to remember that there are no coincidences. Be conscious of what you choose to ignore, do not ignore these owers, the love that they give. There is love all around you, when you love it is choice not chance. As we continue in this cycle of existing, sometimes you nd a ower you have to let grow or perhaps let go, moments are elusive and everything withers away, all is wild, all is silent, however it is, see the collateral beauty. All that you have is you, all that you have is your soul. You must know, a ower will always be with you F o r You, AĂ des okan
CV Aàdesokan aadesokan.com (Adesokan Ahmed Adedayo) (b. 24/11/1994) Lives and works in Lagos, Nigeria. Exhibition(s) Aàdesokan: Flowers for the Soul, Bloom Art (Curated by Ugoma Adegoke), Lagos (NG) 2019 Aàdesokan: Almost Delirium,16/16, Lagos (NG) 2017 Group Exhibition(s) Storied Bodies, WeTransfer/King Kong Magazine/Jan Hoek Workshop, facilitated by the embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, H-Factor, Lagos, (NG) 2019 Collaborative Project(s)Third Space(d) Out!, Residency Exchange live painting, sound and video presentation with Jumoke Adeyanju, Arthouse Foundation and GoetheInstitute Nigeria, Lagos (NG) 2018 Numb Tantrums, Illustration of Anthology of Poems written by Yakeeb, published by Arts & Africa, Lagos (NG) 2017 Commission(s) Private commission PVC Meatway, Fashion Photo Documentary focusing on Lagos Street Butchers, WeTransfer & King Kong Magazine, Amsterdam (NL) 2018 Public Commission, Before I Die Wall Mural, A Global Art Project, Mixed Media, installed at Freedom Park, Lagos (NG) 2017 Private Commission, RESET, mixed media, Lights Camera Africa! (LCA) Film Festival, Lagos (NG) 2017 Presentation(s)Artists Talk: Art as Therapy, 16/16, Lagos (NG)
2017 2019 2019
Website Publication(s)Ayodeji Rotinwa, “Jan Hoek Workshop - Creativity in Nigeria”, WePresent https://wepresent.wetransfer.com/story/jan-hoek-workshop/ Print Media“PVC Meatway”, Fashion Photo Documentary, King Kong Magazine, Issue 7 Enam Obiosio, “Aàdesokan in Almost Delirium Outburst of Dialogue with the Self”, The Guardian Nigeria, September 9, 2017. 44 2017 Obinna Emelike, “Aàdesokan: Almost Delirium; a must-see exhibition” Business Day Sunday, September 10, 2017. 36 2017
For A Soul Friend, 2018. 18 inches x 24 inches, Acrylic on watercolour paper
“All that you have is your soul. Here is a flower for you”
Published by BLOOM Art on the occasion of the exhibition Adesokan 30th March to 10th April 2019 BLOOM Art www.bloomartlagos.com Curator Ugoma Adegoke Editor Ugoma Adegoke Design and Layout Adeyinka Akingbade All Works Šadesokan Printed in Nigeria March 2019