ART
Introduction
Nostalgia is a wistful desire to return in thought or in fact to a former time in one’s life, and is often triggered by memories of home, family, and friends. The expression evokes a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time, but happiness is not the artist’s focus for this exhibition.
In her third solo exhibition, Modé delves into the ache and sadness of Nostalgia. Relying on intense self-reflection, she presents art pieces that explore perceptions of beauty, equality and self-liberation.
Although these works reveal raw emotions and pain, hopes that exposing parts of her vulnerable self will enhance her connection with viewers of her work. She gives others a bit of herself, to create a context in which people can share their feelings and deeply think about themselves in ways they ordinarily would not. Modé hopes that her work will stir up a wistful desire for healing.
“The Carousel”
This video clip is what inspired the Nostalgia collection. It was taken from the critically acclaimed TV series, Mad Men, which is a period drama series that explores the social politics of the 1960s.
In the scene showcased here, the main character (Don Draper) pitches an advertisement idea for Kodak’s slideshow projector, called “The Wheel”.
Meditate
The artworks displayed here share a unique form of expression, which is the fusion of images and text. Modé uses the written words as a form of continuous confirmation in order to align her thoughts. Works like Carry My Heart it’s too Heavy For Me and Ignore Me use poetry to artistically convey what she is feeling, while works like What Would Mandela Do and Live Fast Die Young, use repetitive mantra-like statements to modify her thoughts.
This painting depicts a dangerous deceptive, illogical and self-deprecative thinking process. The poem written on the skin of the female figure is about being undeserving of anything, even though she is in tremendous pain.
Ignore my cries Ignore the tears that rain down these soft subtle cheeks
Ignore her pain. Her cheeks are soft and subtle, as they have never been truly harmed. She is not deserving of pity.
They rain like the dull season They drop as if they are heavy As if they are burdened with real worries
Modé’s earliest way of artistic self-expression was through written words, but it wasn’t until she was nineteen that she began creating poetry.
Useful, meaningful worries
Her tears flow as rain does. She is in a lot of pain, but she writes it off as an emotion not worth talking about. Her worries are insignificant compared to others’.
Ignore my smiles and laughters' The happiness I stab with a pain Ignore the joy she fakes. She is uncomfortable with being happy. She is sure it won’t last. So my weightless tears would continue to fall I’m just blood thirsty The greed of my heart eagers for sorrow or loss Loss and sorrow Don’t listen to my Bleeding Heart
Her tears have no weight or substance. She is just greedy. She is unsatisfied with the life that God has blessed her with. Don’t listen to her distraught heart.
Red is used as a representation of blood. She cries blood and her tears float upwards. They are insignificant, so they are weightless.
In this piece that is influenced by the work of modern day artists Audrey Kawasaki and Stella Im Hultberg, Modé creates a mood that is both quiet and unsettling. Both ladies stare into the viewer’s eyes, each possessing only one eye. This leads one to question the ladies’ identities and intentions.
The missing eyes and joined arms create a unique, surreal artwork. The afro puff and braided hair, as well as the marked skin, characterize the art as Nigerian.
After watching the documentary Chasing Beauty, which is a revealing documentary about the hostile side of the modelling business in the United States, Modé remained captivated by the segment about Lara Stone. In particular, Modé was struck by the beauty of the gap between the Dutch model’s front teeth. Modé painted this piece to stress that there’s beauty in the irregular, the different, the ‘imperfect’.
This painting reveals the contrast between the artist’s two sides. In daily life, we usually interact with the quiet and reserved Modé who doesn’t curse, yet through her art we can connect with a different and less reserved Modé. In this work, we get to see her brutally honest response to a world that sometimes makes her feel constrained and vulnerable.
Modé likes wearing black nail polish, and she has inserted herself into this piece via the hand that represents her own.
Carry My Heart, It’s Too Heavy For Me may be one of the artist’s most heart-wrenching pieces. She delves into her pain from the past that influences her present actions.
The figure is a lady holding her heart which she cut out of her now sewn-up chest. This depicts her overwhelming pain from loss and heartbreak. The different bits of poetry incorporated into the painting give the viewer an insight into the enormity of heartache she has experienced.
“Carry My Heart, It’s Too Heavy For Me” and its Yoruba interpretation, “Gbe Okan Mi O Wuwo Ju Fun Mi”, are repeated after each poem in the background as a form of meditation.
The darkened eyes represent a lonely void, which the artist has dealt with for most of her life. The red painted dots are an influence from the face paintings of Felá’s wives. In a nod to Modé’s Yoruba roots, the figure wears a skirt made of Adiré-patterned fabric. The artist herself is present in this piece, symbolically through the locations of the figure’s jewellery, how her lips are painted and in her black nail polish.
This is one of the poems from the background of the piece:
My father died about a month ago. I thought of suicide. Not because it would suck to live. I can deal with that. I just wanted to be wherever he is. I don’t know if I believe in an afterlife but Death is more comforting knowing there’s someone I love Waiting for me.
Empowerment
Enlightenment, self-respect and charm show confidence, which is reflected in each of these paintings. There is a sense of comfort and liberation, whether in beauty or surrealism (illogical and/or strange art), that supports and motivates inner strength and self-actualisation.
This piece was derived from a photograph of two Caucasian women. Modé took bits of the image and used the source to create the painting. The women’s ethnic origins are purposefully unclear, although their facial marks and paints suggest a Nigerian heritage.
As with most of Modé’s portraits, the women have natural hair textures that have not been chemically processed or altered. The reason for this detail, is to intentionally inspire and cultivate the perception of natural hair as being beautiful.
By giving the women blue and yellow hair and coloured lips, the artist expresses her artistic liberty and brings individuality to her subjects. The rebellious looking blue-haired woman delicately holds a cigarette between her fingers while the more conservative woman behind her, subtly covers her nudity. Modé generally uses nudity to liberate her figures from the constraints of a particular era. Thus her nude subjects blur time and make it easy for us to travel to a nostalgic time “back when”.
The women’s jet black eyes create a sense of blankness and encourage viewers to linger and get lost in them. They also represent a void, and convey loneliness which the artist has occasionally experienced through-out her life.
The Beautiful Ones Are Not Yet Born was titled by the fine-art photographer Toyosi Faridah Kekere-Ekun, who the artist asked to do the honours.
Unlike her other two passions, writing and drawing, which she discovered very early in her life, Modé’s passion for jewellery started in her late teens. In this painting, the artist expresses her penchant for jewellery design in the depiction of the golden shoulder bracelet worn by the lady. The design is a product of Mode’s imagination, combined with Asante ornament patterns.
Temi is Unborn depicts a woman staring at us. As in many of the artworks in this exhibition, the subject’s eyes are completely black, and devoid of emotion. Her head-tie and braided hair emphasize that she is Nigerian.
Sadé Grey is the most monochromatic piece in the Nostalgia exhibition. Sadé is pictured against a white background, which is splattered and sprayed with black and white paint. Her locs are grey, her eyes are white, and she wears black lipstick. She evokes mystery and appears to lack emotion. Sadé’s facial tribal marks are a representation of her Yoruba culture.
Puff represents a rebellious female persona. She does what she pleases, who she pleases, when and how she pleases. She has an attitude that says she is not to be messed with. At some point in a modern young lady’s life she aspires to be this kind of woman. She doesn’t want to care about anybody or anything, she just wants to “be”.
Kemi stares with piercing light blue eyes that captivate the viewer. Her gaze is imposing and direct.
Modé experiments with lines in this piece. She uses thicker lines to emphasize Kemi’s jaw line, and thinner ones to express the weightlessness of her hair. Modé plays with colours – mainly yellow, purple and red on her subject’s skin.
Live Fast, Die Young is inspired by a music video Bad Girls by the rapper M.I.A who is an English-born Sri-Lankan. The portrait is based on one of the ladies in the music video. Modé is a fan of M.I.A’s passion for political statements in her various art forms, but Bad Girls has been the most impactful.
Although many may think of “Live Fast, Die Young” as a wrong approach to life, Modé doesn’t interpret the title in that way. For her, it translates to choosing quality of life over quantity. The repetitive circular pattern of the words is a form of meditation for Modé, and it is meant to continuously remind her to appreciate the fragility of life and to do her best to live it to the fullest.
Propelled by the death of the anti-apartheid revolutionist, Modé created this art piece as a way to revere him. Due to her love for black and white photography, which has Nostalgic connotations, the artist based this digital painting on a desaturated photograph she found on the internet.
Reminiscent of the saying “What Would Jesus Do?” Modé ponders “What Would Mandela Do?” Her question is repeated all over the piece, handwritten again and again to drive home the point.
The proceeds from the sale of this piece will go to charity for the purpose of education, which is a cause that Mandela championed.
In his words, "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."
Sensation
Visual beauty, scent and music stimulate our senses and bring about memories and an appreciation for things from the past. This draws us towards our experiences from “back when…” While Nostalgia is potent, it creates a moment of tranquility when a person recalls a memory and is transported into the reality of the past.
The bittersweet longing for the past can have an important impact on the present. Songs remind us of times in our lives, and familiar sounds trigger well known images in our heads.
Subconsciously, Remember, the music you are presently listening to allows you to imagine. It attaches to a context the listener experienced; and in doing so you are taken back to that moment.
“Saudade” is a Portuguese word for which there is no direct English translation.
“Saudade describes a deep emotional state of nostalgic or profound melancholic longing for an absent something or someone that one loves.” - Wikipedia
Modé was introduced to the word “saudade” by her Angolan friend a few years ago. He illustrated the concept by showing her the music video for the song “Sodade” by Cesária Évora. The image that Modé recollects every time she thinks of the music video, is of the empty wooden chair at the beginning of the clip. To bring her interpretation of this chair to life, she collaborated with the carpenter, Efosa Ero.
In creating the chair, Modé was led by her design aesthetic which requires furniture to both look beautiful and perform a function, which in this case is to be comfortable. She also drew on her personal experiences combined with inspiration from a sculpture which brings up “saudade” feelings for her late father.
This photograph was taken in Badagry, at the former residence of a colonial master. As soon as one enters the residence, one is confronted by a 4 metre high sign that demands, “SILENCE!”
Silence is beautiful, especially during meditation, but it is deadly when one’s thoughts reach boiling point and beg to be voiced and set free. Hence, the repetition of the words “Deadly and Beautiful, Beautiful but Deadly.”
Smell is the sense that connects closest to the part of the brain that triggers memories. Specific smells can quickly conjure up vivid memories from the past. Modé collaborated with the British perfumer, Chris Bartlett, to create a scent that will trigger Nostalgia for this exhibition. This is so that you may be transported back through your memories, to this place and time.
Jellyfish are sea creatures whose venom can be deadly to humans, though their appearance is intriguing and aesthetically pleasing.
These pieces portray beauty and death in a different context. The beauty of silence and the deadliness of unspoken thoughts. The repetition of the words is both symbolic and meditative.
Impressionism
Impressionism is a style of painting that developed in the 19th century and was pioneered by the artist Monet. The word “impressionism” was coined from his painting called Impression Sunrise. The art movement focuses on the artist’s perception of the subject(s) that he or she is aiming to depict. It involves using short, loose brush strokes to create light and examine colour. Although minimally, Modé uses this style in some of the pieces in this exhibition. (see Unborn series)
In Express Yourself, Modé shares her personal manifesto, thus revealing her impression of the outer world. She also applies a kind of impressionism to music, as she discusses what she learnt from the Portuguese song Saudade.
Modé has stripped these portraits down to the bare essentials and focuses on the parts that interest her the most. Her fascination with eyes, which some believe mirror the soul, is the primary subject of this mini-collection. She plays with colours, brush strokes and exaggerated features for emphasis.
The artist references her Yoruba culture through the horizontal marks that appear in all the pieces. These marks are stylized versions of facial tribal marks that are part of Yoruba and some other African cultural practices.
This is one of Modé’s most jarring works. The art may see right through you or cause you to recall someone who hates themselves. Either way, Words leaves a mark on the viewer, as there is no filter or varnish to mask its brutality and honesty.
As the saying goes, “Art comforts the disturbed, and disturbs the comfortable.”
For Modé, art is both a form of self-expression and a career. She is challenged by the perception of her profession as unserious, and is thrown into daily doubts and fears. Her heart and mind constantly battle as she struggles to accept that art is who she is.
The mouth of the girl is taped shut to represent lack of freedom of expression. Several influential figures have lost their lives because they refused to relinquish the right to speak freely. We speak to communicate and connect with others, and our words convey our thoughts, opinions, and needs. Free self-expression lets us truly live.
On the left hand side of the painting the lady holds a gun points it to her head, mimicking a suicidal act. This is set against an ordered background where the colours are confined in boxes, and the text is formal to portray the rigidness of societal expectations. On the other side of the artwork, there’s fluidity and randomness in the paint and text that are splattered across the white background. The splatter alludes to the bloody splatter that would occur if the gun is fired. The chaotic mess also symbolizes freedom from the constraints of societal norms and expectations.
Express Yourself is a reminder to Modé of why she does what she does.
