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By Osa Amadi, Arts Editor
In psychology and related disciplines, escapism is the seeking of relief from unpleasant realities by indulging in fantasies or entertainment. Escape could be to a more tolerable condition, or as is often said, from frying pan to fire.
For Nana Sonoiki, proprietress of the Art Pantheon Gallery, what this particular escapism is offering is an escape to a better place. “With escapism, what we are saying is, run away to a beautiful world. Create that beautiful world that actually gives you a positive mindset. So, by the time you are out of the moment, you are still in that euphoria of a positive mindset, which can actually help carry you on for a while. So that is why we have decided to do this.”
“Escapism,” Sonoiki said, “is actually an exhibition of works created out of fantasies. We all have differences, we all have issues in life every day, and they could be quite overwhelming that sometimes you just have to escape. And we want to live in a world of fantasy.
“So, the fantasies that we just create for ourselves and assume that these problems do not exist; that those issues are not there at all – that world is what we call escapism.
Nana Sonoiki even went deeper to interrogate our conventional concepts of escapism: “But in actual sense, I ask myself a few questions – is there really an escape? Because sometimes we get into this world of fantasies, this beautiful world we build for ourselves and for a moment we forget about our sorrows, our challenges; but after that moment, what happens? We are back to reality. So, is there really an escape? Can we really escape? What are we escaping from, and where are we escaping to?
“Those are the questions we put to these 5 artists over a year ago and we started pondering over it.” So, the outcome, she said, are these works created by the 5 artists for this exhibition.
“Art gives you vibrant, beautiful colours. Every time I go out and get so stressed and tired, the moment I get into my house and I look up at my paintings on the wall, I smile and get flooded with a sense of peace. Whatever troubles you may have, the moment you engage with art, it douses the tension, it gives you relief,” she said.
Parading quite an impressive knowledge of artworks, Nana Sonoiki reveals she began her career in art 21 years ago. She started as a gallery manager with Treasure House Fine Arts on Ogunlana Street, Ikeja. After working there for 7 years she left to join Arthouse Contemporary Limited. In February 2020, she left Arthouse to establish Art Pantheon Limited.
“So, it has been from one art level to another,” she said.
In no particular order, the exhibiting artists for Escapism are Peju Alatise (When Trouble Sleep, 2020), Ndidi Emefiele (Occasional Swimmers, Mixed Media on Canvas, 2021, 118 X 90.5″), Gerald Chukwuma (Black, White & Nude, 2021, Mixed Media 66 X 14″), Anthea Epelle (Melody 4, Oil on Canvas, 2021, 50 X 60″) and Kainebi Osahenye (Interruption, Mixed Media on Canvas, 2018, 80 X 72″).
Speaking with Vanguard, Gerald Chukwuma said: “Sometimes, this space that we escape to is where you have reality, and yet, it is not real.” According to the artists, depression happens every day in our lives. Art, therefore, is therapy. “I found out that in my deepest sorrows or worries; in my toughest times, the only place I escape to is art. Because in art I can be free, I can live life.”
Also speaking with Vanguard, Kainebi Osahenye said, “I thrive on light and dark. So, the light which circumvents dark circumstances becomes my escape route. I escape into the light.”
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