Chris “Klay” Ekuafeh opened his solo exhibition, Unity Forged in Clay, on the 26 September 2026, at Quintessence Gallery, Lagos. The exhibition runs until 10 October and marks his first solo exhibition on Nigerian soil, following his first solo show in China in 2025 after his residency at the Taoxichuan Arts Centre in Jingdezhen.

Words Ireho Aito | Don’t Keep Your Art in the Finger! Photographs courtesy Chris Ekuafeh

Chris “Klay” Ekuafeh is a ceramist with ambition and a strong grounding in his craft, Ekuafeh brings together experiences from Kano, Zaria and Lagos in a practice that continues to explore clay, culture, identity and human connection.

The first time I saw Chris Ekuafeh was last year at the former headquarters of Fobally Art Gallery, where I was one of the judges for the Fobally Art World Africa Art Competition for Secondary Schools and Higher Institutions. Chris was in the company of Ato Arinze. Both gentlemen had come to check the venue for their group exhibition, which was also coming up at Fobally Art Gallery around the same period.

It was the founder, Folasade Abiola, who asked them to say hello to the judges upstairs. Ato, with his familiar smile, introduced Chris as one of the great young men working around the art and also one of the executives of Visions In Clay Artists Network (VICAN), the body behind the exhibition. I can still recall Ato’s statement; “For over 25 years, I have been at the forefront of leading young creatives. This is the time to start handing over to them. They are firebrand,” he stated.

A year later, Chris Ekuafeh, one of the firebrands invited everyone to his solo exhibition with a compelling short documentary in which he told part of his story, from being born in Kano to where he is today. It was a personal account of how his roots, environment and experiences have helped shape the artist he has become.

On Sunday afternoon, iBAND Magazine, from its Lagos office, had a chat with the man of the moment about life, exhibitions, the power of clay and the unity we all deserve.

iBAND: Congratulations on your exhibition, Unity Forged in Clay. You were born in Kano but now live and work in Lagos. How has moving between these two very different places shaped the artist you have become?

Chris “Klay” Ekuafeh: It has helped immensely. Moving between these two very unique locations has helped me gather experiences, with the North bearing a cultural and historical impact on my life because of its rich history, which I was heavily introduced to in my younger years. With Lagos, my art touched on the contemporary and began to develop into a more research-themed approach.

iBAND : Tell us more about the power of education in your life. You are a product of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. What role did the university play in your development?

Chris “Klay” Ekuafeh: I studied Industrial Design, specialising in ceramics. I could very well have learnt the art anywhere else, but that academic experience was very vital to the artist I am today.

That education took me deeper into the arts than I probably would have gone outside the institution. If you know ABU, you know how thorough they can be in building capacity. There were no lazy days and no shortcuts to achievements, and this is a training I have carried on with.

iBAND : Before the opening of the exhibition, you released a short documentary where you invited people into your story, from your birth in Kano to where you are today. What part of that journey do you think people need to understand before they look at your work?

Chris “Klay” Ekuafeh: Wow! This question is splendid.
I think this would be my history. It’s important that people know that I have been exposed to a lot of cultural and traditional experiences which directly or indirectly reflect on my work.

These exposures also created an inquisitive nature in me about human experiences around unity, spirituality, emotional expressions and creativity. These have defined my work so far through the concept of “Unity in Diversity”. So anytime you see my work, just know there is a reason for the patterns, forms and messages they embody.

iBAND : You work with clay largely through your hands. What first drew you to clay, and what does working with it allow you to express that other materials may not?

Chris “Klay” Ekuafeh: My first love connection with clay was from my youth. Growing up in the North and seeing the beauty and genius behind the northern architecture was amazing. I fell in love. Then came the local pots for storage and drinking water.

Getting to the university and seeing ceramics as an option just opened my mind to the possibilities that could follow, with me creating vessels that could also impact society and promote culture.

Working with clay most importantly gives me mind possibilities. It is a relationship that is therapeutic. It is the one medium whose processes, from source to finish, are most closely related to the human experience. So working with it and telling its stories in that same connection, for me, raises it higher than other materials.

iBAND : Your exhibition is titled Unity Forged in Clay. What does the idea of unity mean to you, and how did it become the central thought behind this body of work?

Chris “Klay” Ekuafeh: Unity Forged in Clay as a title was birthed out of a great deal of discussions and planning with the curatorial team of Quintessence. We knew what we wanted, we only needed to know how to present it.

For me, unity is bits and pieces of different entities coming together to achieve a thing. Each knowing and appreciating their own differences, but knowing that the same differences put together in the same vessel is a delicious recipe for success.

iBAND : How many works are on display, and what can you share about their titles and what inspired their creation?

Chris “Klay” Ekuafeh: There are 13 pieces on display.

Their titles were birthed by the story surrounding their creations and the messages conveyed. The titles are in English, Yoruba and even in my native Igarra language, not because they are more important or special, but based on the translation, they fit the narrative at that point.

iBAND : When you are working with clay, how much of the final form is planned before you begin, and how much develops naturally as you work with the material?

Chris “Klay” Ekuafeh: I can’t really break it down into a specific percentage. Personally, I see working with clay as an intimate relationship.

Some pieces I sketch out before starting, especially because I play with ideas, forms and possibilities in my mind first, which I then sketch out for visual references, hoping to get a planned finish, which often doesn’t turn out like this.

Other times, there is really no plan. We just go at it with clay. At these times, there is a message or idea I am brooding on, say “community”, for instance. So while I am brooding on the topic and building, the work just grows in itself. My hands only guide its growth.

iBAND : What role does the soil and environment play in your creative direction, especially since you said in your documentary that the materials are all around you?

Chris “Klay” Ekuafeh: Clay is the most natural and abundant material available to an artist. It becomes even more valuable when you are located in an area with a large deposit of it, just as I am.

So the soil for me plays a vital role in my creative process. Personally, I have to source, dig, prepare and process the material myself, which still increases my bonding time with the medium.

iBAND : There is something very physical about working with clay. What does the process of touching, shaping, pressing and building the material mean to you as an artist? Are they like babies to you?

Chris “Klay” Ekuafeh: Ooohhhh… this experience is sometimes hard to put into words.

That physical experience is very personal to me. Like I tell my students, getting the best out of clay involves touching. How you touch determines how you feel, and how you feel is represented in what you are able to create.

Are they like babies? Oh yes, my art has that effect on me.

iBAND : How many exhibitions, group or solo, have you done so far?

Chris “Klay” Ekuafeh: I have had quite a few group exhibitions at home and abroad, but my first solo exhibition was in China in 2025 after my residency at the Taoxichuan Arts Centre in Jingdezhen, China.

Unity Forged in Clay is my first solo exhibition on Nigerian soil.

iBAND : Kano and Lagos have different histories, cultures and ways of life. Do you see traces of both places in your work?

Chris “Klay” Ekuafeh: Oh yes, I do. The northern architecture influences my patterns. The faces I carve, unique to my works, are influenced by my Edo heritage, and Lagos exposes me to a pool of creative influences.

So yes, I easily see and can trace both locations and more in my work.

iBAND : Beyond the beauty of the finished pieces, what do you want people to think about when they stand before the works in Unity Forged in Clay?

Chris “Klay” Ekuafeh: Two central questions guide the concept of this exhibition: the first one is what is unity? While the second one is, are we as a people united?

Like I mentioned in the short documentary released, there are no right or wrong answers. The goal is to have each piece communicate with the viewers and collectors.

We are meant to ask questions. These pieces, their stories, taglines, forms, titles… hopefully will, or should, lead them along that path.

iBAND : As an artist working with clay in Nigeria today, what have been some of the challenges of developing your practice, and what has kept you going?

Chris “Klay” Ekuafeh: Technical challenges are mostly the challenges we face as ceramic artists here in Nigeria, ranging from equipment and materials. For me, at the start, these were very limiting. As a student, I had easy access to them, but in the real world, a whole lot was involved.

What kept me going basically was just the light I kept seeing shining afar off. I just couldn’t give up, which is something else clay teaches me. I had to keep going, not just for me, but also for the community and ceramicists to come.

iBAND : Now that Unity Forged in Clay is open at Quintessence Gallery, what do you hope this exhibition marks in your journey, and where do you see your work going from here?

Chris “Klay” Ekuafeh: This exhibition marks a shift forward in my journey. Solo shows are quite important to an artist. It marks a shift forward in their career.

After spending a while to create and show, the next phase is to go back into the drawing room and birth another project, another message.

I see my work becoming institutional going forward from here.

iBAND : You are a member of an association, in fact, the secretary. What influence does being part of an association have on artists and their careers?

Chris “Klay” Ekuafeh: It creates the community. It builds belonging. An artist’s journey, as personal as it might seem, should be a shared experience of give and take, especially within the community. That is the influence I hold on to.
The association is VICAN which means Visions In Clay Artists Network.

iBAND : Finally, how did “Klay” become part of your name? Is it a moniker we need to get used to, or is there a story we need to know?

Chris “Klay” Ekuafeh: I got “Clay” from school as a nickname, connected to my working with clay the way I did back then. Over time, I flipped it to “Klay”.
Within my circle, I am still called Clay though.

iBAND : The exhibition runs until 10 October. After Unity Forged in Clay, what is the next challenge or mission for you?

Chris “Klay” Ekuafeh: Creating o! Getting back into the game because it takes a hit to the mind and body after such an amazing experience.

iBAND Magazine, Celebrating Visual Art from the Original.
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