The show's title carries a deliberate double edge. On one hand, "pure water" nods to Idu's vision of ecological balance, the underwater world his figures inhabit, rendered in oil, acrylic, and delicate watercolour. A direct reference to the plastic drinking-water sachets sold across cities in Nigeria; the sachets clog drains and waterways and degrade urban life for millions. That tension between beauty and warning runs through the entire body of work.
Idu's paintings contrast portraits of African women and children against submerged swimmers drifting through a pristine underwater world, a visual space of freedom outside the constraints of life above the surface. His technique is distinctive: palette-knife layered currents give the water its own texture and motion, while an impasto style catches and bends light as if it were moving through liquid itself.
September 5, 2026
