Documenting Fiction… Falomo Roundabout experience

culled from the Guardian Newspaper 8th June 2010
by Tajudeen Sowole

AS one of the two main roads linking Lagos Island and Victoria Island, Falomo Roundabout was a delight to watch as seen during the presentation of a group exhibition. Organized by Goethe-Institut at the African Artists’ Foundation (AAF)’s art gallery, Ikoyi, the video art show titled Documenting Fiction featured works of Jelili Atiku, Oscar Enamino, Tunde Aboderin, Omeligho Udenta, Abimbola Ogunsanya and Olorungbemi Olushola. Others are Uchay Joel Chima, Jude Anogwih, Ikem Okolue, Azu Nwagbogu and Segun Adefila. The works are what the organisers described as the results of video art workshop of documenting forms of fiction in urban areas. The workshop was conducted by visiting German artists, Constanze Fischbeck and Daniel Kötter. In 2007, similar workshop was conducted by Kötter and had a theme that focused the fuel crisis of that period. A concept that fictionalised common activities of people around the Falomo Roundabout presented such works that captured the subjects in spontaneous as well as regular acts. In fact these works, offered the viewers the purpose of close circuit camera in public space. As one of the works was rightly titled, Different, Different Fever, three officers of the Lagos State Traffic Management (LASTMA) caught on duty, offered an insight on the attitude of Nigerians to work: while one of the officers in the control cubicle stationed by the road side was busy reading a copy of a national daily newspapers, two others were attempting to solve or prevent a traffic gridlock. And comes the drama or fiction moment as the voice over on the video got the officers engaged each other in dialogue. If some traffic officers’ ineptitude affects free flow of traffic, some motorists are equally nuisances on the road. The same work caught two ladies in the car as the one behind the wheel, took the short break of stop at traffic light junction to have her lunch. Another work titled Pedestrian Dilemma took the audience about a 100 metres away from the roundabout to a public space, which is currently an abandoned project. Apparently designed as a pedestrian subway to ease flow of vehicular movement at the Maitama Sule / Awolowo road Junction, this underground channel has not been functioning since built over five years ago. Reason: it appeared like a preposterously conceived idea. And just in case there is a Citizen Proper who decides to use this subway to cross from one end of the road to another, a performance in the work depicted that. With camera focusing just the legs of Proper, he walks to a halt at the entrance of the subway. He is unable to progress beyond that point because the gate is locked. And from his point of view, the camera peeps in to reveal a filth-filled subway, in fact a dumpsite. Documenting urban, according to the organisers, offers fictional ideas. “Thus, urban places can be documented through people, ideas and dreams. “Fiction” becomes vivid material when the story is told and retold through people.” The workshop, they explained focused the challenges of finding artistic strategies by using documentary techniques in video art and the root of fiction. “Each participant had to choose a specific urban location, which portrays the city, Lagos - in - transition and to find a strategy to work with some people around the location, maybe through sharing a common or individual dream, TV-soap opera, fairy tale etc.” Responding to question of how far Nigerian artists have improved in video art between 2007 and now, Kötter said it was difficult to assess the situation “because we are not working with the same artists.” He hopes that when he returns, “perhaps in 2013, we might say yes or no.” Indeed, video art exhibitions are not common here. Except for three or more done by Centre for Contemporary Art, CCA, Lagos and few others by Goethe, the genre is still unpopular.

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