{"id":864,"date":"2021-08-11T17:29:30","date_gmt":"2021-08-11T15:29:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/danaepanchaud.net\/?page_id=864"},"modified":"2022-03-03T13:53:42","modified_gmt":"2022-03-03T12:53:42","slug":"anthony-ayodele-obayomi-give-us-this-day","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/danaepanchaud.net\/index.php\/exhibitions\/anthony-ayodele-obayomi-give-us-this-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Anthony Ayodele Obayomi. Give Us This Day"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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2021 | Photoforum Pasquart, Biel<\/strong>
Curated with Tamara Ribeiro Ferrari<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Photoforum presents, in partnership with the Taurus Foundation for Arts and Sciences and the Biel\/Bienne Festival of Photography<\/a>, the exhibition Give Us This Day<\/em> by Nigerian artist Anthony Ayodele Obayomi<\/a> (*1994), laureate of the 2019 Taurus Prize for Visual Arts<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His work explores the commodification of hope through the prism of lotteries and churches of different faiths in Lagos Mainland. He examines their many similarities, from their organisational structures to their social impact and psychological functions for those who long to improve their current situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hope is a commodity that sells extremely well in the less privileged areas of Lagos, according to the artist, who is witness to the daily hardships of the population of Lagos Mainland (the mainland part of Nigeria\u2019s economic capital). His project explores two of the psychological mechanisms that the inhabitants use to cope with very difficult living conditions. While lottery and religious fanaticism co-exist in many parts of the world, they do not necessarily go hand in hand. In Lagos Mainland, however, the two practices are similar in structure, effect and function, and serve the same needs. Selling hope at low prices and exploiting the perspective of a better future is the spring and the financial manna on which Nigerian gambling companies and religious institutions rely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlike in Switzerland, buying a lottery ticket in Nigeria is not a hobby investment. Due to non-functioning labour markets, a lack of social structures and generally difficult living conditions, the purchase of a ticket can fundamentally alter the course of the day and decide whether there is a meal on the table in the evening. While most players know they will not win, a lottery ticket is still a \u2018cheap\u2019 investment in the possibility of a better life, and a permission to daydream. It is thus no surprise that the lottery industry in Nigeria has become a multi-billion enterprise that brings about 10 billion naira (around CHF 22 million) into the state coffers every year. Premier Lotto, also known as \u2018Baba Ijebu\u2019, is the largest gaming company in Nigeria. Based in Lagos Mainland, it has about 200 agents leading a team of 16,000 salespeople across the West.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, hope is also reflected in the behaviour of churchgoers. Much like the lottery, religious institu- tions are booming, and they heavily rely on individual donations. According to Forbes magazine, four of the ten richest priests in the world, with a combined wealth of USD 249,000,000 are based in Lagos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Give Us This Day<\/em> explores some of the practices that offer, at a relatively low cost, a reason to believe in a better future, even when everything seems to point to the contrary. His expressive photographs document seemingly banal everyday situations: passers-by in brightly patterned clothing, gatherings of believers, ubiquitous lottery booths and churches. They highlight troubling parallels in the gestures of betting and praying, and in the gatherings around churches and lotteries alike, and bring attention to how ingrained into the social fabric of Lagos Mainland they are. In the exhibition, the images are brought into constant dialogue with each other, reflecting social imbalance, symbolising the effort to change and showing us different forms of coping mechanisms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Le Photoforum pr\u00e9sente, en partenariat avec la Fondation Taurus pour les arts et les sciences et les Journ\u00e9es photographiques de Bienne, l\u2019exposition Give Us This Day<\/em> de l\u2019artiste nig\u00e9rian Anthony Ayodele Obayomi (*1994), laur\u00e9at du Prix Taurus pour les arts visuels 2019.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Son travail explore la marchandisation de l\u2019espoir \u00e0 travers le prisme des loteries et des \u00e9glises de diff\u00e9rentes confessions \u00e0 Lagos Mainland. Il examine leurs nombreuses similitudes, de leurs structures organisationnelles \u00e0 leur impact social, comme leurs fonctions psychologiques pour ceux qui aspirent \u00e0 am\u00e9liorer leur situation actuelle.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

L\u2019espoir est une denr\u00e9e qui se vend tr\u00e8s bien dans les zones les moins privil\u00e9gi\u00e9es de Lagos, selon l\u2019artiste, qui est t\u00e9moin des difficult\u00e9s quotidiennes de la population de Lagos Mainland (la partie continentale de la capitale \u00e9conomique du Nigeria). Son projet explore deux des m\u00e9canismes psychologiques que les ha- bitants utilisent pour faire face \u00e0 des conditions de vie tr\u00e8s difficiles. Si la loterie et le fanatisme religieux coexistent dans de nombreuses r\u00e9gions du monde, ils ne vont pas n\u00e9cessairement de pair. A Lagos Mainland, cependant, les deux pratiques sont similaires en termes de structure, d\u2019effets et de fonction, et r\u00e9pondent aux m\u00eames besoins. Vendre l\u2019espoir \u00e0 bas prix et exploiter la perspective d\u2019un avenir meilleur, voil\u00e0 le ressort et la manne financi\u00e8re sur lesquels s\u2019appuient les soci\u00e9t\u00e9s de jeux et les institutions religieuses nig\u00e9rianes.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

En Suisse, l\u2019achat d\u2019un billet de loterie rel\u00e8ve souvent du loisir. Au Nigeria, la situation est tr\u00e8s diff\u00e9rente. En raison du non-fonctionnement du march\u00e9 du travail, de l\u2019absence de structures sociales et des conditions de vie g\u00e9n\u00e9ralement difficiles, l\u2019achat d\u2019un billet peut modifier fondamentalement le cours de la journ\u00e9e et d\u00e9cider s\u2019il y aura un repas sur la table le soir. M\u00eame si la plupart des joueurs savent qu\u2019ils ne gagneront pas, un billet de loterie reste un investissement \u201cbon march\u00e9\u201d dans la possibilit\u00e9 d\u2019une vie meilleure, et une possi- bilit\u00e9 de r\u00eaver. Il n\u2019est donc pas surprenant que l\u2019industrie de la loterie au Nigeria p\u00e8se plusieurs millards, et rapporte chaque ann\u00e9e environ 10 milliards de naira (environ 22 millions de francs suisses) dans les caisses de l\u2019\u00c9tat. Premier Lotto, \u00e9galement connu sous le nom de \u201cBaba Ijebu\u201d, est la plus grande soci\u00e9t\u00e9 de jeux du Nigeria. Bas\u00e9e \u00e0 Lagos Mainland, elle compte environ 200 agents \u00e0 la t\u00eate d\u2019une \u00e9quipe de 16\u2019000 vendeurs dans tout l\u2019ouest du pays.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

En parall\u00e8le, l\u2019espoir se refl\u00e8te \u00e9galement dans le comportement des pratiquants. Tout comme la loterie, les institutions religieuses sont en plein essor, et elles d\u00e9pendent fortement des dons individuels. Selon le magazine Forbes, quatre des dix pr\u00eatres les plus riches du monde, avec une fortune combin\u00e9e de 249\u2019000\u2019000 millions de dollars am\u00e9ricains, sont bas\u00e9s \u00e0 Lagos.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Give Us This Day<\/em> explore certaines des pratiques qui offrent, \u00e0 un co\u00fbt relativement faible, une possibilit\u00e9 de croire en un avenir meilleur, m\u00eame lorsque tout semble pointer vers le contraire. Ses photographies expressives documentent des situations quotidiennes apparemment banales: des passants portant des v\u00eatements aux motifs \u00e9clatants, des rassemblements de croyants, l\u2019omnipr\u00e9sence des stands de loterie et des \u00e9glises. Elles mettent en \u00e9vidence des parall\u00e8les troublants dans les gestes de pari et de pri\u00e8re, ainsi que dans les rassemblements autour des \u00e9glises et des loteries, et attirent l\u2019attention sur le fait qu\u2019ils sont profond\u00e9ment ancr\u00e9s dans le tissu social de Lagos Mainland. Dans l\u2019exposition, les images sont mises en dialogue constant les unes avec les autres, refl\u00e9tant le d\u00e9s\u00e9quilibre social et les efforts envers le changement, et nous montrant diff\u00e9rentes formes de m\u00e9canismes d\u2019adaptation.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Exhibition views by Melina Wicht<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

2021 | Photoforum Pasquart, BielCurated with Tamara Ribeiro Ferrari The Photoforum presents, in partnership with the Taurus Foundation for Arts and Sciences and the Biel\/Bienne Festival of Photography, the exhibition Give Us This Day by Nigerian artist Anthony Ayodele Obayomi (*1994), laureate of the 2019 Taurus Prize for Visual Arts. His work explores the commodification […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":182,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-864","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/danaepanchaud.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/864","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/danaepanchaud.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/danaepanchaud.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/danaepanchaud.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/danaepanchaud.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=864"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/danaepanchaud.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/864\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":921,"href":"https:\/\/danaepanchaud.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/864\/revisions\/921"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/danaepanchaud.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/182"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/danaepanchaud.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}