Lagos the Future City

An intriguing exhibition with this title was held recently in London.  FMC Mordi was there..

Lagos: Future City was an exhibition of drawings and designs for Lagos. It was organised by Bukka, a collective of enterprising architects based in London. Their objectives are:  “To promote the study, development, implementation and dissemination of concepts, thoughts and ideas through a series of events, educational and otherwise; and annual publications” They also wish: “To be a forum for harnessing the current energies in contemporary non-occidental cultures in the areas of Fine Arts, Performing Arts, Music, Literature, Design, Architecture and Urbanism. With a view to permitting, cross-fertilization, and perhaps anticipating the future.” Well, brave men with lofty aims. In my view, anticipating the future is a pretty tall order, but Bukka decided to give it a try.      
    
The organisers derived their inspiration from the Italian Futurists In this regard, they have not disappointed their intellectual forefathers.  The raison d’être for this event was to advocate a bold and dramatic vision for cities, using Lagos, as a model.  The exhibition consisted of a number of distinct set pieces, all dealing with Lagos. A set of drawings and striking pictures of the island & mainland, were supported by a narrative by Giles Omezi, an architect at Allies and Morrison.  His enlightening narrative, on large white boards on the wall, was a paean to a city he lived in – reflecting on the chaos that prevailed within the tenuous order that was imposed on the city by its original developers.    

Prince Tikare’s set piece was titled “symbiotic infection by a nodal matrix.” Not a thesis on biological warfare, but his remedy for the urban dystopia that Lagos is in danger of degenerating into. He used a biological metaphor to articulate his vision of a city demarcated into various zones, feeding off each other, with nodes as the points of concentration; a variety of nodes, with each containing all the necessities for the local inhabitants, thereby supporting them. An interesting antithesis to the model of one size fits all, in an attempt to relax the burden on the straining infrastructure of Lagos. If it could, the humble mosquito would appreciate its unwitting, but nevertheless, remarkable contribution to urban planning.                                     

From the present to the future. The third set piece transported us to 2042, when Godson Egbo revisits Lagos after a 39 year absence. He is shocked and enthralled by the imposition of order, by technology, on the erstwhile benighted city. Efficient hovercrafts, polite “Okada” riders, and employees of the municipal authorities who are capable of employing the phrase “law and order” without a hint of irony. No surprise when we learn that they were installed in the aftermath of a Lagos revolution.  A well written and highly imaginative futuristic song of hope for Lagos. To the cynical mind, a charming flight of fancy, considering the current state of Lagos.  

   Toure and I on his Hovokada, by Godson Egbo

We depart from Mr. Egbo’s fantasy, for a set of arrestingly stark pictures by the young photographer - Jide Alakija. Alakija uses the trick of colour separation to propound his own thesis of Lagos. Pictures of Iconic buildings – NET, St. Nicholas House, etc, are in colour, while the surroundings are in Black & White – the contrast, ostensibly articulating some philosophy about the anonymity of the surroundings of big Westernised buildings, belying their necessity to the future of Lagos.  The pictures are pretty and anyone in London with nostalgia for Lagos, would assuage that particular ailment after standing in front of them for 15 minutes.
There follow two substantial storyboards with drawings & a timeline of Lagos. Making a quick historical dash from the 15th through to the 18th, flitting through the 19th century, and concentrating on the post independence period, these boards give a social historical overview of Nigeria, touching on Highlife, Fela, and military coups. Disjointed as a history lesson, but a sustaining diversion for an exhibition.     
         
Tosin Oshinowo has a fascinating vignette on the gated communities springing up in Lagos, and their encouragement of a fortress mentality. She makes a good case for the return to the communities centered around local streets. A good case indeed, but sadly, I would hazard that gated communities are a symptom of a crime ridden society, and I suspect Lagosians are unlikely to knock down their high walls to fulfil an architectural ideal. Ayo Alaka complements this with cod futuristic adverts for packaged comestibles, with an invitation to patrons to write their suggestions on the works themselves. Odd. Not dull, but decidedly odd. Andy Warhol might have been intruiged.      
                 
Bukka have developed an attractive habit of hosting informative, challenging & well organised exhibitions. The prime mover behind this event was George Tikare, a founding member of Bukka. This collective, comprising of Godson Egbo, Papa Omotayo & Giles Omezi amongst others, are by turns gregarious, charming, and always willing to engage with the intellectual issues surrounding their work.  
                        
An affair of this nature should be informative. It should challenge received notions, and present original perspectives on the subject it raises. These criteria should be the objective benchmarks for the success or failure of any such enterprise. Lofty objectives, yes; but Bukka attained them all.

The exhibition was from:Friday 27th January 2006 – Feb 06
Venue: The Gallery at Alan Baxter & Associates, 75 Cowcross Street, London EC1.

FMC Mordi

Click here for more info on Bukka and the exhibition.