Andrew Esiebo’s innovative exhibition addresses the environmental challenge of used and waste tyres, focusing on Lagos and the actors of the tyre chain, including an extensive network of vulcanizers.
LAGOS, Nigeria’s commerce capital, has been and will continue to be the muse of creatives. Several literary works, poetry and prose, are inspired by the megacity. Poet Odia Ofeimun’s ‘Lagos of the Poets’, Simbo Olorunfemi’s ‘Eko Ree’ (This is Lagos), Chibundu Onuzo’s ‘Welcome to Lagos’, Teju Cole’s ‘Every Day is for the Thief’ and Toni Kan’s thriller, ‘The Carnivorous City’ are only a few examples.
It’s the same for music. Who can forget the late Adeolu Akinsanya’s classic, ‘Feso Jaiye’ or Broda Martyns’ ‘Mushin Olosa’? There’s also Wizkid’s ‘Ojuelegba’, Olamide’s ‘I Love Lagos’ and ‘Owo Eko’ by Lagbaja.
Lagos, which the current Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, is working to develop further, has also inspired legions of visual artists who have done outstanding works from life and living in Africa’s fifth-largest economy.
Andrew Esiebo’s ‘Pneumacity Lagos’, an innovative exhibition exploring the life cycle of tyres in the megacity, is the latest series. It sheds light on their crucial role in the daily lives of Lagosians. It is a welcome addition to artistic reflections on the city.
Curated by Inês Valle, the show opened on Friday, November 17, at the Mushin headquarters of the Lagos State Vulcanisers Association (LSVA) and has no end date. The education component of the show, including a free workshop about recycling tyres, happened earlier on Friday, November 10 and Wednesday, November 15, at the University of Lagos and Federal College of Education (Technical), Yaba.
The exhibition is part of the three-year project ‘Pneuma-city,’ a collaborative effort fusing engineering, social sciences, and contemporary art. It addresses the global environmental challenge of used and waste tyres, explicitly focusing on Lagos. It is spearheaded by Dr David Garbin from the University of Kent and is funded by the British Academy. Partner universities include the University of Lagos, the University of Toronto and University Mohammed VI Polytechnic (Morocco).
Free from the confines of traditional art galleries, ‘Pneumacity Lagos’ is happening right on the streets, amid communities and educational institutions. It spans different public zones, including Mushin, Victoria Island, Lagos Island, Ikeja, Sabo-Yaba, Surulere, Suru-Alaba, and Agboju–Amuwo, making art accessible to communities that have limited exposure to museums or contemporary art.
Shedding more light on the exhibition, Valle explained in her curatorial essay that it is a multidisciplinary project focused on urban infrastructure, road ecologies/economies, and the valorization of end-of-life tyres (ELTs) to promote more sustainable urban economies in West African megacity context.
She said the “project actively engaged with many actors of the tyre chain, including an extensive network of vulcanizers, who play a pivotal role in the urban informal sector,” adding that it offers “a glimpse into the lives of the actors of the tyre chain and in particular vulcanizers – from the rhythm of their daily routines to the pressing health and environmental issues they encounter.”
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Valle continued: “In a symbolic immersion into the mega-urban world of Lagos, the vulcanizers’ workstations are transformed into art exhibition venues, revealing to visitors, customers and local communities powerful images of their own – often harsh and challenging – complex reality…A wide range of elements interconnect the vulcanizer and the city in each location, encompassing tyres, tools, urban (noise and air) pollution, creativity and movement.”
Esiebo’s sharp, bold, black-and-white photographs showcase the potential of repurposed tyres. They reveal their transformation into signage at vulcanizers’ workstations, into beds and even fashionable furniture in restaurants and clubs.
One image, for instance, shows a man carrying about seven car tires inserted into each other on his head from a used tyre dump ostensibly for repurposing.
In another, neatly arranged tyres become a bed. We see a man enjoying his sleep on old tyres while some others play football in the background. All that matters for the subject with his slippers and bag by his side is catching some sleep, although it’s an open and noisy space.
Lagos is a challenging city, and you need some ‘smarts’ to earn an income. The artist reinforces that in another photo, an ingenious ‘vulcanizer’ boldly writes his mobile phone number on a disused tyre beside a fuel station. The chap has found another use for the tyre: signage.
Esiebo’s ‘Pneumacity Lagos’ is an exciting project that looks at a critical mobility component and pollutant of Lagos. It highlights its uses and the ecological and environmental issues its improper use and disposal can cause. He directs us to a pertinent question: what becomes of tyres after their end of life? Are they repurposed or become pollutants? Making vulcanizers a core part of the project is a master stroke as they ultimately decide what happens to tyres at the end of their lives.
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