Opolo - Limited Edition of 5 Print

Opolo means frog in Yoruba. This happy fellow lives in the Lagos Lagoon, and was not shy. There is abundant wildlife in the Lagos Lagoon, waiting to be discovered. It is Kerala, Amazon and deep rainforests in South East Asia combined. A beautiful disaster, exogenous seaweed from South America, has taken over the lagoon, stopping life in its tracks. As far as the eye can see Water Hyacinths create the sensation of endless green fields peppered with brilliant pink flowers. From Ologbokere to Bodun, Oriba to Ibon, in coastal villages in Epe adults are worried about access to work and health care, blocked by Water Hyacinths. Children are oblivious of these perils and play happily, grateful to be released from school and showing off their summersaults. The project brings together photography, video documentary and painting. The exhibition space will be transformed into a sea of Water Hyacinths, inspired on Claude Monet’s panoramic series of Water Lilies at the Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris. Monet designed a unique space consisting of two oval rooms within the museum, giving the spectator, in Monet’s own words, "an illusion of an endless whole, of water without horizon and without shore". The beauty of the images is in sharp contrast with the stark reality of these villages, invisible as a result of predatory seaweed and lack of political will. It is a call for help, an alarm signal that cannot be ignored. This project is a derivative of the pilot study on Lagos Coastal Health that documented the health challenges of more than 145 communities inhabiting the 200km stretch of Lagos lagoon.