Segun Taylor’s Yesteryears Photo Exhibition

Culled from an essay titled ‘Yesteryears – Reflections through the Lenses’ by the same author and published in The UNION Newspaper on March 2, 2014.

 An admixture of colour and Black/White images brought alive from times past, was the tone set in the ever friendly ambiance of the National Museum (Lagos) exhibition hall, where the Photographer, Segun Taylor poured out her feelings in thematic visual offerings.

Sometimes her sojourns in foreign lands brought against the backdrop of her Nigerian experience, has indeed welled up a unique energy in her sobering reminiscences. This makes one able to draw inferences for constructive comparisons regarding the various and diverse cultures and environments from which she has freely tapped inspirations for her works. Sometimes also, her experiences have tended to bring about eloquent conversations and dialogues relating to the realities and challenges of a festering social milieu.

Segun Taylor - Photographer

Segun Taylor captures especially the variegated, albeit predominantly sombre sights and sounds of both modern and even ‘yesteryears’ Nigeria. She does not mince words in her predilection for capturing the need for a social rebirth. Her lenses have traversed and travailed across the vast landscape – like a woman with child; she groans and bears our collective pains rising from her tripod. From the rustic landscapes, to the rural and even sub-urban reflections of poverty and squalor, to the picturesque country, and down to the city hustle and bustle, this artiste draws visuals bearing so many tales too much for a writer to put down.

None of the photographs on display have a title, neither is any dated - intentionally so; for doing otherwise Segun reckons will only go to restrict and diminish the interpretation as well as the ongoing conversations: How could an impoverished haggard looking old guy sitting in front of his lonely thatched mud hut tucked away in a rural wilderness be calm and smiling at you? The wardrobe of rags and litter hang right there in your face, and his kitchen all bare with sooth and burnt soup, and he smiles at you still; he is not afraid for himself or anything, not even for the little kid who stands by, looking on – talk about he that is already down. Is this contentment or insanity, when ravenous politicians are still killing each other over the next elections? There must be a lesson to take away from all these. 

Morgan Nwanguma

INTERVIEW:

‘My race against time’

– By Yetunde Oladeinde, Arts & Life, The Nation Newspaper

Art is beauty; it is the gem of life. Art fuels your power of perception and vision; and how wonderful it is to emulate God in the art of creativity. The artist connects with nature, the sublime terrains of the universe, and the community because he is the mirror of society. “He maybe a prophet sometimes crying and screaming in the wilderness for those who care to listen. He is a friend of the muse. What can be more exhilarating?” asked Morgan Nwanguma rhetorically as he takes Yetunde Oladeinde into his world

Tell us about some of your works.

I practice in various mediums and modes of expression, all culminating in making me a well rounded creative agent – a complete artist: My creative energies find expressions in the visual arts such as painting, graphics designing, etc. On the other hand, I am a poet and creative writer with a couple of unpublished books lying on the shelves for now.  As a painter my works are rendered in two major mediums – oil painting and watercolours. My watercolours are a celebration of spontaneous colours and ‘happy accidents’, in which you capture the fleeting moments, your patience is put to test while you take a breath of fresh air in visual poetry as I usually refer to my works in that whimsical medium of expression.  

Oil painting affords me the freedom to express hard and deep concepts. I am able to execute concepts on a larger scale and of course a more durable format such as the canvas. The oil medium no doubt is the king of painting or two dimensional medium of expression. But in all, my paintings and drawings in whatever medium, will cut across impressionistic, and semi-abstract expressions most of the time. Sometimes too I would also delve into the surreal when there is the urge to express some ethereal impulses. One of my favourite paintings in this mode is the one I titled ‘Time is against you’. It is a race against time, and we are all involved in it. Therefore whatever is there to be done must be done right now, because you lose this moment, it is gone forever.

What are some of the exhibitions and projects in which you have participated?

I have had the privilege of having my works shown in various parts of the country and a few times abroad. My works also are proudly adorning so many private homes in Nigeria. Some adorn the walls of corporate entities as well as galleries. In foreign lands I am proud also to say that my works are in private collections in places such as – USA, Russia, Spain, Kenya, Venezuela, Taiwan, U.K., and Germany. My most memorable exhibition so far is my third solo show at DIDI Museum, Victoria Island in 1999, titled ‘Lyrical Expressions’. I am also a curator, and so have handled quite a few curatorial projects for group shows. A good example of these is ‘The Pains, The Tears, The Regrets’ - an art exhibition on violence against women by (LRRDC), also in 1999, at the National Museum in Lagos.