Lagos is set to host a groundbreaking artistic experience as Spanish artist Yago Sanchez showcases his crystal mosaic works in Nigeria for the first time. The immersive exhibition, titled The Precision of Light in the Dark, is curated by Nigerian-British artist and ancestral living advocate Lola Bashua. It will run from 17 to 20 June 2026 at Integra Art Space in Lekki, Lagos, and is open to the public.
A Milestone for Sanchez and Lagos
This exhibition marks a significant moment for Sanchez, whose decade-long career has been rooted in Spanish craft traditions, and for Lagos, a city increasingly becoming a hub for global contemporary art. The collection features crystal mosaics that invite viewers to slow down and observe closely. Up close, each piece fractures into hundreds of individual crystal fragments, vitreous tesserae, glass, and marble, assembled with precision that reveals itself only upon proximity. Stepping back, figures, faces, and forms emerge from what initially appears fragmented.
Exploring Detail and Distance
The exhibition explores the relationship between detail and distance, between clear sight and understanding. Sanchez employs techniques spanning traditional Roman mosaic, the trencadís method popularized by Gaudí, and the characteristic stone craft of Granada, applying them to works that feel contemporary. Light moves across the surfaces differently at different hours, making the works dynamic and ever-changing.
For Lagos audiences, this is a first encounter with an artist whose material language is unlike anything currently in the city's gallery circuit. The exhibition creates a bridge between Spanish craft heritage and the expanding scope of contemporary African art, fostering a conversation between two traditions that rarely share a space.
Curator's Vision
Curator Lola Bashua explained, 'I brought Yago Sanchez to Lagos because I believe Lagos is now ready to host international artists and because this work deserves a Lagos audience. What drew me to his work was the commitment to material truth. Every crystal fragment is placed by hand, with intention. There is no shortcut in mosaic. The image only emerges through patience, precision, and a deep understanding of how light moves through matter.'
Bashua added, 'As a painter working in oils, I understand the relationship between a medium and what it reveals. Yago's crystals reveal something deeply resonant with my own practice: the idea that the complete can only be fully understood once you have sat with the fragments. That is not just an artistic idea; it is a way of seeing.'
She emphasized that hosting a Western artist does not overshadow homegrown talents but validates them, reinforcing that home is the best place to be. 'As we are being restored as masters of the arts, a nod to Nok, the world now comes to us to pay homage. We are establishing Nigeria as the world centre of arts, one exhibition at a time.'
About the Artists
Yago Sanchez is a self-taught Spanish artist with over a decade of experience. His artistic journey began with a deep exploration of mosaic as a living form, working with vitreous tesserae, glass, marble, and stone across techniques including trencadís, traditional Roman mosaic, and Granada's stone craft. His crystal mosaic works have evolved into a distinctive visual language at the intersection of craft, sculpture, and painting, with surfaces that hold and release light depending on the viewer's position. This Lagos exhibition marks his Nigerian debut.
Lola Bashua is a Nigerian-British artist, curator, actress, and indigenous African ancestral lifestyle advocate. As a curator, she is drawn to work that holds material integrity and spiritual intention, qualities she pursues across her painting, acting, writing, and daily ancestral vegan lifestyle practice. The Precision of Light in the Dark is her first major curatorial project in Lagos.
Support and Sponsorship
The exhibition is made possible with the support of Uno Telos, a Lagos-based technology and multi-systems integrator operating across nine African markets. Since its founding in 2004, Uno Telos has built a reputation as one of Nigeria's most forward-looking technology companies, working at the intersection of telecommunications, network infrastructure, surveillance, and emerging technologies.
