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Guardian Angel
by Olukemi Lijadu
United Kingdom, Nigeria, 2022, 24’ 31’’
Presented at the 18th edition of Lo schermo dell’arte, 2025
Film part of VISIO – European Programme on Artists’ Moving Images 14th edition, 2025
Guardian Angel explores the artist’s upbringing as a Catholic Nigerian woman through her relationship with her late grandmother, reflecting a post-colonial society’s contradictory relationship to religion and spirituality. The work explores Nigerian and western histories and themes of grief, loss, and belief. Shot over seven years in Lagos and London, the film weaves archival footage, staged scenes, and intimate recordings. Its sound track is a live DJ set performed by the artist, blending audio from her grandmother’s funeral, forgotten 1970s Nigerian songs, and original compositions, creating a rich collage of sound and image. Working in the legacy of thinkers such as Prof. Sophie Oluwole and drawing on interviews of Fela Kuti, Guardian Angel entangles the personal with the political as she puts her relationship with her grandmother in conversation with the history of her nation.
Olukemi Lijadu (United Kingdom/Nigeria, 1994). Lives and works in London.
Recent exhibitions and screenings include: V.O Curations (London); ICA (London); Mariane Ibrahim Gallery (Chicago); No.9 Cork Street, Frieze (London); The Metrograph and The Kitchen’s Video Viewing Room (New York); G.A.S (Lagos); Venice Biennale; Royal Academy London. Performing as DJ Kem Kem, she has appeared at Tate Britain (London); Serpentine Gallery (London); Bozar (Brussels); La Gaîté Lyrique (Paris); and the National Museum (Lagos), among others.
Recent exhibitions and screenings include: V.O Curations (London); ICA (London); Mariane Ibrahim Gallery (Chicago); No.9 Cork Street, Frieze (London); The Metrograph and The Kitchen’s Video Viewing Room (New York); G.A.S (Lagos); Venice Biennale; Royal Academy London. Performing as DJ Kem Kem, she has appeared at Tate Britain (London); Serpentine Gallery (London); Bozar (Brussels); La Gaîté Lyrique (Paris); and the National Museum (Lagos), among others.