A Discussion and Showcase of New Works Emerging from Research into Earth Pigments and Material Experimentation by Moses Hamborg
On 8th July 2026, G.A.S. Lagos hosted im/MATERIAL, an intimate presentation and conversation in which Moses Hamborg shared the material explorations developed during his residency at the G.A.S. Farm House in Ikiṣẹ. Throughout the evening, Moses guided visitors in small groups explaining the works, retracing the journey behind each material and the experiments that shaped them.
Beginning with the raw materials themselves, Moses introduced visitors with earth pigments and materials including kaolin, clay sourced from a pottery village, calcium carbonate, rust, laterite, charcoal, calcined bone, handmade beeswax oil sticks, and found materials gathered from Lagos and Ikiṣẹ. Explaining how each was sourced, processed, and tested throughout his residency, he reflected on conversations with miners, artisans, market vendors, and Lakaye, the village's Babalawo (priest and herbalist), whose knowledge deepened his understanding of the histories and cultural significance embedded within them.
As the tour progressed, he mentioned how these materials gave way to finished works that demonstrated the possibilities of these experiments. Paintings made with beeswax, sculptures, drawings, and works created on repurposed cocoa sacks and cardboard cartons revealed his exploration of surface, texture, and material transformation. The cocoa sacks, gathered from different regions with the help of G.A.S. staff, retained their distinctive colours, labels, and markings, allowing traces of their previous journeys to become part of the compositions themselves.
Throughout the evening, visitors were encouraged to interact with the sourced materials and ask questions as Moses guided them through the display.
Event Details
Date: 8th July, 2026
Time: 4:00pm - 6:00pm
Location: 9b, Hakeem Dickson Drive, off T.F. Kuboye Road, Oniru, Lagos
About the Facilitator
Moses Hamborg
Moses Hamborg is a figurative painter whose work explores identity, movement, and perception through the lens of classical painting traditions. Trained at the Florence Academy of Art and Charles H. Cecil Studios, his practice is grounded in observational drawing and oil painting while increasingly integrating material research into pigment and process. His work has been exhibited internationally, including in the BP Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery in London and the 14th Dak’Art Biennale. Hamborg has participated in artist residencies such as Kehinde Wiley’s Black Rock Senegal and Pearl Lam’s 70 Square Metres in Shanghai, where he presented Taxon.
Moses' residency is generously supported by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
