Pippy Houldsworth Gallery in London presents 'We Were Like Those Who Dreamed,' the second solo exhibition by Nigerian artist Nengi Omuku. The show features new paintings that explore the politics of green spaces in urban centers, particularly Lagos, where rapid urbanization has created a 'concrete jungle.' Omuku transposes figures from contemporary and archival images of Lagos into lush, Impressionistic landscapes painted with pointillist brushstrokes and a Fauvist palette, using the garden as a radical symbol of equality and resistance. She paints on sanyan, a hand-spun Yoruba cloth, working with local artisans in Ilorin to revive the tradition. Works like 'Dream Logic' and 'One Particular Man' address socio-economic tensions, while 'A quiet nation' captures the dichotomy between urban Brutalist architecture and natural foliage.
The exhibition matters because it highlights Omuku's growing international prominence, with her first US institutional solo exhibition scheduled at the de Young Museum in San Francisco in June 2026. Her practice uniquely merges Western painting traditions with West African heritage textiles, addressing urgent themes of climate catastrophe, colonialism, and cultural preservation. By reviving the sanyan textile tradition and establishing The Art of Healing charity, Omuku demonstrates how contemporary art can foster cultural revival and social change. The show also underscores the broader art world's increasing attention to Nigerian and African contemporary artists, as evidenced by Omuku's recent exhibitions at major institutions like the Dakar Biennale, Hauser & Wirth, and the Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco.