A VISIT TO PICA STUDIOS (Ft Lucid Lemons)

Hey guys, Eme here & back at it again with another Lucid Lemons collab! A couple weeks ago, I met up with Dami Ayo-Vaughan to explore Pica Studios. It's an artists' space which houses the workshops of 18 creatives. Walking in, I was greeted by a nostalgic reminder of my art school days. The space is very much communal and upon talking to some of the artists, this sense of community seems to be a motivating factor in their creative process. I was able to spend the day at the studio getting familiar with the works of a few of the artists and learning a bit about their background and process.

FOUR WALLS.

With poetry and photography in symbiosis, Andikan and Oscar Stokes have produced a collective piece which delves into a discussion about isolation and anti-social behaviour. The piece is a segment of a larger project titled "Satwa" where he aims to show 'the other side' of Dubai through photographing other creatives in a way that expresses their personal stories. The poem considers a possible motivator for anti-social behaviour in providing an apparent "comfort and security", but then suggests that the idea of isolation for the purposes of security is in actuality a mask on a life of monotony and dullness as a result of shutting oneself out from prospective life experiences. Coupled with the poem, Andikan introduces photographs which depict what seems to be a troubled youth. The subject stares intensely into the lens with dark, gloomy and uninviting eyes. The dull brown tones in the frame encapsulate a life void of excitement and the subject's choice of wardrobe compliments this theme. The elements of the photographs work together to give a sense of the subject's guarded and exclusive personality; the chain around his neck however, subtly alludes to a question of whether or not the subject, in an effort to guard himself against the world, has become a prisoner in his isolation.

Enjoy the piece below:

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY SPECIAL: WOMEN IN NOLLYWOOD.

Hey guys Stephaaaaanie here, as you know last Wednesday the 8th of march was International Women's Day. In honor of this, I'm writing short um biographies? There's a better word for this but I can't think of it right now. Anywho I'm writing short biographies on a couple of badass women in the second largest (after Bollywood) production house in the world: Nollywood!! Yeah, baby.

AN OVERDUE EXHIBITION REVIEW: NOSTALGIA BY BUTLER.

Hey guys, Steph here so about a month ago I went to an exhibition of the works of Nigerian artist Butler, whose work is quite prominent on social media.

He has worked with Adidas, Beats by Dre and Dr. Martens.  He is famous for his minimalistic style of drawing. Using thin lines sparingly usually to capture female subjects. The minimalism of the drawings, commonly black ink on white paper makes his work extremely striking. The work at this exhibition although was quite different from his most recognized style.  He featured paintings rather than drawings in this exhibition, where he painted Disney and comic book characters he remembered from his childhood with emphasis on his relationship with color as he is color blind. He also incorporated color blocking in these paintings where thick coats of paint covered majority of the work creating an obstruction which he explained as part of the perspective he had growing up and also as a mechanism to cope with the sensory overload these paintings offer with their colors compared to his usual minimalistic style. This is the first time he has worked with colors.