Glitch
-
Overview
Sarah Wiseman Gallery are pleased to present ‘Glitch’, a solo show by Ade Adesina. Ade is an award-winning printmaker working predominantly in linocut and etching, investigating ecology through a sociopolitical lens. Glitch will be his third solo presentation at the gallery.
Ade’s works are imaginary compositions of juxtaposing landscapes which highlight global issues on ecology and the footprint humanity now leaves on the natural world. Heavy machinery sits among safari wildlife, clouds often found suspended from metal chains in a bleak sky, baobab trees dominate man-made cityscapes. Visually striking and complex, Ade’s black & white imagery tells the story of his fascination with the world’s turbulent environment.
-
Growing up in Nigeria, Ade was surrounded by abundance of creativity and graft. He says ‘There was a little bit of creativity in everything around me, like basket weaving, tie-dye, sign making, you name it. Everything had some kind of skills and a background.’
Ade’s story-telling approach to his work began during school, where he would create comic books with his friends. He says, ‘I was fascinated at how people could start their own story, I think that was my first introduction to art, in a way. So, I decided to approach art in my own way, by painting. Instead of telling the story like they did, I would just paint things like colourful wildlife.’ Symbolism and narrative continues to ring through Ade’s work He says, ‘My work is my way of making commentaries of an issue I am passionate about, it is my way of writing a story…I often look at still life motifs and turn them into something else – each object symbolises something more.’
The exhibition title Glitch refers to a print Ade recently finished, experimenting with combining lino and laser cutting. He says, ‘I began the print in 2012, and I recently picked it up again and finished where it was going. I remember when I began the imagery for the print, I had certain narratives attached to it about certain issues I was passionate about at the time, and then when I finished it that narrative changed completely…It was almost as if a Glitch happened.’ This print became a catalyst for the body of work we see in this exhibition, representational of how narratives shift in art as time goes on.
Ade now lives and works in Aberdeen, Scotland. He is a Royal Scottish Academician, a member of The Royal Society of Painters and Printmakers, and a member of The London Group. He has had artist residencies at Eton College, Glasgow Print Studio, Gray’s School of Art, Aberdeen, Engramme, Quebec, Canada, and Fossekleiva Kultursenter Berger Museum, Norway 2024. More recently, he was awarded the Mario Avati Engraving Prize 2023 from the Academie des Beaux-Arts, France. Ade’s print ‘The View After the Questions’ was acquired by The Arts Council Collection in 2024.
-
Works