An Odyssey of Memory: Brick, Brass, Belonging

The project explores Olaiya House, formerly Casa do Fernandez and later Ilojo Bar, an Afro-Brazilian landmark that once stood on Tinubu Square, Lagos, until its demolition in 2016. For the artist’s family, the building was never only a structure. It was a place of arrival, inheritance, hospitality, music, social life and belonging.
Through portrait photography, architectural reconstruction, historical archive, sound and mixed media, Olaiya traces the building’s changing life: from a villa associated with a Portuguese trader, to the Olaiya family home from 1933, and later a hotel, bar, restaurant and music space. Each function gave the house a new role in the life of Lagos and deepened the Olaiya family’s connection to the city.
Rather than attempting to rebuild the house exactly as it was, the exhibition reconstructs what the house made possible: gatherings, gestures, music, family memory, civic presence and cultural contribution. Staged portraits, architectural fragments, symbolic objects and archival references are used to explore how buildings carry emotional and cultural memory.
Portsmouth becomes the place where this memory is reassembled and made public. Through Aspex, Olaiya brings a Lagos family history into conversation with the city where he has built a significant part of his creative practice. The work connects two port cities through photography, architecture, migration, and memory.