“This was my real ‘fuck it’ era.’ Whatever happens happens — this is Bobo in action.”
It may not be as the skater he once was, but with Bobo, Slawn’s still planting roots back into the city’s up-and-comers. As a part of the opening, he invited 10 Nigerian artists to join him on a single, large-scale painting, with profits split between contributors and art supplies for the community.
In with the new wave of artists, designers and cultural architects in Lagos, comes the city’s long-awaited creative boom, and in full, hard-earned swing, described curator Richard Vedelago, the mind behind Nahous.
A cross between a gallery, concept store, furniture showroom, and bar, the space launched earlier this year inside the historic Federal Palace Hotel and has already found its grounds as a steward within Lagos’ cultural ecosystem. “We’ve been fighting for this,” Vedelago added. “[Slawn’s] not just coming home because he’s succeeded abroad; he’s coming home to add value to where we are today.”
Tense over the show, Slawn scrambles to book a flight while on the phone, only to find London to Lagos one-ways sold out, a first for him, another reflection of the city’s mounting creative momentum. Above the jitters and the pressure to impress, though, is an oddly fitting chaos for the artist, the same kind of serendipity, leap of faith, that admittedly fuels most of his moves. “Everything in my life is random and rushed,” he explains. “That’s when I know it’s the right time to do it; that’s when I press the gas.”
“This was my real ‘fuck it’ era,” Slawn continues. “Whatever happens happens — this is Bobo in action.”
