In Her Eyes: Nelly Idagba Explores Selfhood & Memory in a Stunning Debut Solo Show Hosted by the Belgian Embassy

On Friday, June 20, the Belgian Ambassador to Nigeria, Pieter Leenknegt, hosted an intimate soirée at his residence for the opening reception of In Her Eyes, a solo art exhibition by Nigerian visual artist Nelly Idagba.

In Her Eyes marks the debut solo exhibition of the self-taught painter and professionally trained lawyer whose striking canvases evoke an intimate, emotional and interrogative language of feminine experience. Her works explore themes of identity, womanhood, and social justice.

Presented through a diverse selection of oil paintings and works on paper, this exhibition is not only a visual journey but also an unveiling of selfhood, memory, identity and the spectre of societal imposition.

In his introductory note as curator of the showcase, Rowland Goyit said: “Nelly presents to us a perspective. She presents to us the depth of her soul. It’s a feeling; it’s an experience that none of us may ever have, but she captured it in paintings, and the title, In Her Eyes, speaks volumes. I don’t know what she saw, I don’t know what we’re going to see. But for a first solo exhibition, I think what we’re going to take home here is that Nelly is not just starting. She has arrived.”

Her showcase engages the viewer through the psychological intensity of portraiture, drawing attention to the subtle but powerful narratives that reside, quite literally, in the gaze of her subjects.

In an interview with Modaculture, Ambassador Leenknegt expressed his pleasure in hosting the brilliant artist. He described her work as “interrogative” and the gazes as “unusual.”

“I’ve known Nelly for about two years now. I’m quite familiar with her work. What always strikes me are the female portraits, these interrogative gazes, and their unusual ways of portraying. It’s not a classical way of posing. There’s some tension in those works, and the fact that it conveys that and it then also kind of provokes conversation about women, girls, in Nigeria; it’s something I really like.”

He perceived the solo exhibition as another pivotal moment in a series of leaps in Idagba’s journey as an artist, as she had already exhibited with other artists prior; however, for this debut solo, a thematic one, “I am quite confident that it will be steady further growth.” While he admits that an artist’s track is their choice, he offers one helpful review for the artist to explore more faces: “I think she has to find her own way. I’m not there to give any advice to artists. Their track is their choice. Perhaps, one thing: it feels like faces are always the strongest and most convincing part of her paintings, and I think she should just continue focusing on faces, perhaps, evermore; sometimes the surroundings, forget about it, focus on the faces.”

In her chat with Modaculture, Idagba described her coming out moment as a dream come true. “This is like a dream come true. Today has always been the scariest moment of my life. Yes, I’m a lawyer and then an artist, but as a side hustle, so I’ve been hiding. So, today turned out to be one of the most…Oh, I don’t know the word. I don’t know the expression to use, but I am really excited having burst out of my hiding place to come out to say ‘Yes, I’m an artist.’” She excitedly shared the inspiration for In Her Eyes.  “If you look around today, you will see that I’m very particular about the eyes of my paintings because the eye is the window of the soul, so that’s why I themed it In Her Eyes—an expression of people through their eyes.”

The star of the show shared her discovery process, narrating the defining moment she encountered Ambassador Leenknegt in 2023 at an art exhibition, which eventually led to this solo exhibition. He had experienced her painting for the first time and became quite particular about it, insisting on a showcase. She added that the painting in question was the one painting that sold at that exhibition. “Right from that moment, he kept on pestering me, ‘Can you showcase your works to the world?’ and I was like ‘No.’ Finally, I accepted, and that’s where we are today, and I believe today is the beginning of better things.”

Idagba is clear about her expectations for the future, altruistic yet modest in approach. “I just want the world to resonate with my paintings. I want my painting to impact people the way it does to me, and the universe takes it from there.” As a multi-hyphenate, one can’t help but wonder if this moment in her career poses any changes to which she responds, “I think some things are beyond us to say, so I am open to the universe to drive me and when I say the universe, I mean ‘God’ to drive me wherever He thinks I am deserving of.”