I’m heading home from the No-1 Installation, actually the Box Fair hosted by GarmSpot which was a collective gathering of the streetwear kids [that context in Nigeria is a side of society allowed to embrace streetwear as a style, an expensive one].

It featured performances from a lot of young vibrant sounds, all aspiring to own their stage [a lot of trap was performed, I have no idea why the kids all are sounding the same].

And LOS performed Akanti, Zamir performed Hate, Brisb perfomed Photogenic with Zamir and Bridge performed Sauce, they fucking made everything worth it. I love LOS.

And emerging cult brands, all owning their unique style and culture, Off-Days, Home Delivery, WafflesNCream [they just make everything beautiful], Garmspot, and others showcasing their collections.

Now back to Thompson. S. Ekong, Visual Director of Baroque Age, this is the third time I’m experiencing his installation, this is the first time I’m involved in it, and it was absolutely magnificent I have to say.

No-1 is an idea, ideas don’t need to have a form or a reason, it’s an idea. There’s a light, a showcase of where I feel we all need to be. The stars are where you long for when the night covers your mind, it’s a place of infinite space where you can demonstrate any emotion, experience, story or vision. It brings out something in all of us that feels more human than our world itself.

This is inspiration for us, one to share.

Share from Africa cause we’re looking at the stars a lot more now. This is the story of a man that came from stars and within, trapped here but with hope that he can let us understand we all beyond above.- Thompson. S. Ekong.

It’s hard to understand what he’s about, or what the story of this experience is if you’re not fully immersed in it from the start. I caught a glimpse of Thompson narrating his story, the story of No-1, a young heart from a world of the stars trapped in a dilapidated society, one he has to bring close to the stars, so he can get home and they can understand there’s more mystery in life when you embrace the abstractness of beyond.

Yes, that all sounds like a bunch of bull, but it’s damn true.

The truth is, life is about dreaming, it’s about taking the shit you only see in your head and making reality understand. Nothing is above you, there’s a breath of life, inspiration and hope every time an idea is allowed time to have its space. – TSE.

Humanity learns more about itself from the story of No-1, a man from the stars who seeks a way home. A way that helps us reach for the stars in ourselves.

The installation was about seeing yourself in every one of those images, abstract but still beckoning that you can feel it if you let it open you up enough.

This young African heart was trying to create a space that allowed dreams grow, because he broke the boundaries of reality, he transported them into a dystopian paradox filled with errors, randomness, stories, ideas and collaboration.

Whatever this all means to you, that you should take away.

This is what I felt as I got high, immersed in a young generation talking on their own stage; skating, drinking, interacting, appreciating art, being bougie at Alexandar Road, Ikoyi. It’s 11:30PM and Kitoye’s mum won’t want us out too late.

I’m happy all this exists, a cause to bring us together, a mind to create installations that out the stars amongst us, a group of individuals putting our own time capsules on tees we’ll grow up revelling for our daily source of youthful nostalgia.

I had to document this night, it’s one of the moments that makes you believe life is worth living when you embrace your dreams.