Jelili Atiku and the struggle in Ejigbo

By Molara Wood

The Netherlands Embassy in Lagos opened its doors to members of the Nigerian arts community recently for a celebration of one of their own, an artist under siege, in an event designed to send a message, that he is not alone. Anyone seeing performance artist Jelili Atiku on Friday, April 8, 2016, would have done a double take. He was resplendent in flowing, sunshine-yellow agbada traditional attire, topped with an abeti-aja (dog-eared) cap.

(L-R) Netherlands Ambassador John Groffen, Jelili Atiku and Fariba Derakhshani of Prince Claus Fund

Uche Okeke, Uli Art Movement and the Legacy of Beautiful Lines

And the legend finally comes to an end; Professor Uche Okeke - the great master and pioneer finally goes home to his maker leaving the ‘sensitive lines’ with us. As the originator of Ulism, the great son of Okeke worked the lines to frenzy as he ‘doodled’ his way right from the formative days in the 1950s, to the lofty heights we behold of him and his rich legacies. It was in the 1950s when as a student in the fine art department of the Nigerian College of Arts, Science, and Technology (which later became the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria) that his modernist tendencies shone clearly whiles he experimented with the motifs and philosophies of his native Igbo folklore.

Uche Okeke (1933 - 2015). Photo: Shelley Kusnetz

Bruce Onobrakpeya – Erudite Nigerian Artist, Scholar and Print-Maker of Many Colours

He is undoubtedly Nigeria's best-documented artist; Bruce Onobrakpeya needs very little introduction in art circles both within and outside of the country. He is indeed a living legend; Bruce Onobrakpeya has devoted his life to his work, and is today regarded in some quarters as the main custodian of Urhobo folklore and culture. He never forgets his roots; he is unapologetically attached to the history, art and culture of the Urhobo people of South-South Nigeria. He tells their rich history and portrays unendingly the colourful cultures of his people in his writings, paintings and of course his major medium of expression – print-making. 

Bruce Onobrakpeya

Bruce Onobrakpeya is a founding member of the Zaria rebels; they were actually a group of young artists who formed the nucleus of the art department or the Zaria (art) School when the current Ahmadu Bello University was known as the Nigerian College of Arts, Science and Technology (NCAST). He is of course also a shining light among the first generation of academically trained artists who were responsible for the renaissance in Nigeria’s contemporary art.

 He was in the vanguard of the early league with contemporaries such as Ben Enwonwu, Yusuf Grillo, Uche Okeke, Demas Nwoko, etc. In the course of his academic and studio exploits, Onobrakpeya had pitched his tent with, and triumphed through his vision from St. Gregory's College, Lagos, where he headed the fine art department - teaching, raising and mentoring so many disciples including one of his popular protégés – David Dale, also an accomplished print-maker. 

After a memorable stint in the school which spanned a period of about thirteen years, he retired fully into his studio – Ovuomaroro Studios located in Mushin, a suburb of Lagos. Since then he has continued working assiduously extending his practice and mentoring a host of adherents through apprenticeship, extensive research, guest lecturing and writing. Through his various workshops and symposia, Bruce Onobrakpeya has influenced generations of young artists, and he is today respected and acknowledged as one of the leading print-makers in the world. 

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.

I Remember Gani Odutokun

Gani Odutokun was one of the most talented, prolific and inspiring artists to come out of Nigeria this century. Gani was my lecturer and a great inspirer and motivator that had an unending strong influence on many of us who were privileged to have had training under him. His untimely death in a car crash in February of 1995 meant the loss of one of Nigeria's pioneers of Modern African art. Could it be just an irony of fate – Gani loved ‘accidents’? Thus his latter works were results of happenstance, and 'happy' accidents, from which he derived his unique liquidized oil painting technique. 

'Dry earth'  - liquidized (oil) painting by Gani Odutokun