Jul 30

Jul 30 Helen Epega on Her 'Her Dark Materials' Exhibition

Helen Epega is a Nigerian-British multidisciplinary artist, fronting the music group The Venus Bushfires specialising in African and tribal drum music, as well as expressive and classical music. Helen has performed across the globe, in major cities including Cape Town, Lagos and of course London. She is best known for the world’s first pidgin-English Opera: Song Queen: A Pidgin Opera.

Not only is Helen a gifted musician, but she also expresses herself through visual art in response to the music she makes. The wife and mother of two, kindly spoke with us about her artistic journey and her experience during the global pandemic that led to the creation of her latest project reflected in the virtual exhibition, Her Dark Materials.

Lockdown was a mixed bag of emotions for Helen. ‘’When it first happened, I was terrified and confused. It felt like the world stopped. It was the first time I didn’t have any words. And as a songwriter, how are you going to get your words out without having any?’’, she asks rhetorically.

Normally living between London and Lagos, but staying put in London for lockdown, Helen spoke to people in both of these regions to find out how lockdown affected them. ‘’I found that everyone pretty much had the same fears’’, she said.

These conversations reminded Helen that regardless of where we are in the world, there are more similarities between us than differences. ‘‘I wanted to celebrate bringing people together’’, she adds. Helen found her words and was inspired to create new music with a collection of sounds from both London and Lagos. Her artistic expression became even more expansive to incorporate painted pieces. ‘’The paintings were in response to the sound art that represents the cultures that dance between each other, but also sometimes clash’’.

Both Helen’s latest visual and sound art projects are available at the Her Dark Materials virtual exhibition, curated by former Saatchi Gallery director Phillipa Adams, which celebrates women artists from across the world. The exhibition is open from 22 June- 22 September 2021.

“My experience of African culture is the positive things that aren’t often talked about or celebrated. I wanted to show as much of that as possible. I’m hoping people can then be open to having conversations.” Helen shares.

Sharing how living in London and Lagos has shaped her as an artist, the self-taught instrumentalist said ‘’I think there’s no way you’re going to live in Lagos as an artist and not have that entrepreneurial spirit. You have to hustle’’, she candidly states. In Lagos, I feel like a lot of the time artists are on their own. In London, it’s a good way to branch out in the world. For example, if I wanted to find a Brazilian or Welsh artist, I’d find that in London. But there are still other challenges in London, too.’’

Delving into what it’s like to be a Black artist, in a predominantly white space, Helen says ‘if I think about it, and want to fit in, it can be lonely, but if I just want to create my art and my reality, I’m hoping it will be inviting for a lot of people.’’