A Dinner and Film Screening Hosted by Mobolaji Ogunrosoye
In conclusion of her research residency, Mobolaji Ogunrosoye hosted at G.A.S. Lagos an intimate, female-centered dinner and film screening of Black Girl a 1966 French-Senegalese drama film, written and directed by Ousmane Sembène in his acclaimed directorial debut. Adapted from a short story in Sembène’s 1962 collection Voltaique, the film narrates the poignant tale of Diouana, a young Senegalese woman who moves from Dakar to Antibes, France, as a nanny for a wealthy family. Her dreams of a cosmopolitan life are shattered as she finds herself confined to the role of a domestic servant, enduring mistreatment from her employers.
The evening began with dinner and an introduction where Mobolaji reflected on her residency at G.A.S. Lagos, focused on building an archive of images through research in the G.A.S. Library and Picton Archive. She shared how this experience has deepened her exploration of distortion and layering in her work while expanding her visual vocabulary for future collages. Mobolaji also spoke about her decision to center the evening on female experiences, using Black Girl to highlight the struggles of African women, the intersections of race and gender, and the importance of amplifying women’s voices in storytelling.
After the screening, attendees participated in a thought-provoking discussion on the film’s themes, including identity, colonialism, and the African diaspora. The conversation left a lasting impression, as attendees reflected on the film’s enduring relevance to contemporary social issues.
Event Details
Date: 17th December, 2024
Time: 6:00pm - 9:30pm
Location: 9b, Hakeem Dickson Drive, off TF Kuboye Road, Oniru, Lagos.
ABOUT MOBOLAJI OGUNROSOYE
MOBOLAJI OGUNROSOYE is a visual artist based in Lagos, Nigeria, working in the intersection of photography and collage. She utilizes these mediums to explore distortion and the nuances of contrasting emotions found within images of Nigerian and black women.
In Portraits, Mobolaji creates multi-layer collages, incorporating a process of burning and cutting to create depth in revealing underlying layers of images. In 2022 -2023, she developed the 'Portraits' series, where she delved into incorporating coffee granules as an important element within each portrait. Mobolaji expanded on these explorations during a 5-week residency at The Noldor Residency in Accra, Ghana, in 2022. She is currently exploring the use of transparent materials as tools for collage.