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am a poet and creative writer with a couple of unpublished books lying on the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.
