Monday 31 March 2014

How Cross River Valley connects peoples in art, culture


By Tajudeen Sowole
Colonial and pods-independence administrators may have created geographical boundaries within Nigeria's nation state and beyond, but the natural factor that links peoples remains, so explains a new exhibition, Cross River Valley: Eden of Art and Culture.

Mounted inside the long duration gallery of the National Museum, Onikan, Lagos, the exhibits showcase sculptural works of both religious and cultural values as well as household items of the peoples who dwell along the Cross River, and perhaps Benue River axis of Nigeria. On focus, specifically, are the inhabitants in the present geographical states of Cross Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Ebonyi, Benue as well as a part of the Cameroon Republic.

The D-G, NCMM Mallam Yusuf Abdallah Usman (speaking), President, Art Galleries Association of Nigeria (AGAN), Chief Frank Okonta; and American diplomat, Rhonda watson: during the opening of Cross River Valley: Eden of Art and Culture…recently.

Historians and geographers may, in the days ahead, debate the reason(s) for grouping the different ethnic nationalities featured in the exhibition as peoples of the Cross River Valley. However, the cultural value of each distinct people is not lost under the Cross River Valley umbrella chosen for the exhibition, so it seems.

Shortly after the Director-General of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) Mallam Yusuf Abdallah Usman and the curator, Mrs Edith Ekunke briefed visitors about the essence of the exhibition - described as "showing for the first time," - it was formally opened to the public.

While the diversity of ethnic identity existed among the inhabitants, relationship, particularly in trading appears borderless. For example, apart from the Portuguese currency known as manila, there were native forms of trade transactions and exchanges among the people. The first set of display at the immediate entrance of the gallery shows evidences of trade relation among the people and perhaps with other neighbours. Two of such objects include. Y Shaped metal piece labeled as currency among the Ogoja people. The metal, which "is worth a penny," would take about "40 pieces" for a man to pay a woman’s bride price.

For the Calabar people, one of the oldest forms of trading involved exchanges otherwise known as barter. An example shows a set of gin bottles dated to1905 and said to "exchanged for 40 copper rods."  

In the same stand with the gin bottles is a mould of salt labeled as. Iyala, also used as currency, particularly for bride price.
 Although the Cross River Valley exhibition does not, specifically, establish inter trade and socio-cultural exchanges between the peoples featured, it was most likely that the waters and their tributaries connected such relationships.  And if trading and cultural relationship existed across the ethnic divides, modern geographical boundaries seem to have done little to complement the healthy inter-ethnic relationship that supposedly existed then.

Dominated by pieces of Calabar and Efik origins of Cross Rivers and Akwa Ibom States, the exhibition also featured objects, which include figural and households from Ebonyi and Benue States. Among such works is a traditional religious figure Ingay, of wood, from Benue State. It is described as "the male pair" of a couple’s figures.

Interestingly, terracotta sculptures, particularly in households such as pots and bedding cut across tribes of the Cross River Valley peoples. Some of these works expose the peoples’ art. For examples, Mmaoibu, a terracotta pot from Ebonyi and Head Rest, also of the same material from Calabar come with attractive aesthetics.

For the royal houses of Cross River Valley peoples, the exhibition also displays what the NCMM tagged Royal Insignia and Costumes.

Viewing one of the exhibits of the Cross River Valley: Eden of Art and Culture, inside the National Museum, Onikan, Lagos.

Usman explained that the contents of the show are from the collection of the Onikan museum. He likened the collections to well-known works of Igbo Ukwu, Nok, Owo, Ife and Benin, disclosing that some of the exhibits were found along the Cross River basin.

He argued that the creative skills of the peoples are of great value in the focus of the show. “It is also to demonstrate the creativity, ingenuity, skills, aesthetic qualities and technological know- how of the people of this area dating back to several decades.”

While the D-G noted that Nigeria’s tangible and intangible cultural heritages are attractive for their “uniqueness, creativity, historical value and the inspiration behind their production,” the new exhibition, he assured, is no less important in the league of the country’s cultural values.

In a country that is struggling to regain its lost glory of museum-visiting culture, it was a delight to see that the Onikan museum has been extending the campaign to the young ones. As the opening of the exhibition was ongoing, pupils from different schools also, coincidentally, chose the same day to visit the museum.

And with more exhibitions coming as the curator assured, the Onikan museum is perhaps on the verge of returning to the glorious days of the past. “The critical thinking and reasoning that has given birth to today’s exhibition will also give birth to future exhibitions that will feature fascinating objects from other geopolitical zones,” Ekunke stated.

She stressed how the exhibition will also educate the people on the cultural value imbed in art as against misconception that art is fetish  “This is to prove that museums are not where fetish objects are kept as people erroneously believe. Let me use the opportunity to encourage Nigerians to take time out to visit the museums across the country because there is much to learn about our history.”

Sunday 30 March 2014

World Photo Multimedia Contest picks winners


The international jury of the 2014 World Press has awarded prizes in three categories of Short Feature, Long Feature and Interactive Documentary. Each category holds first, second and third prizes.

First prize Short Feature as Staff Riding, shot by Marco Casino
The video is available for your viewing pleasure at http://vimeo.com/83486021

A statement from the organizers listed the winner of the First prize Short Feature as Staff Riding, shot by Marco Casino is local slang for train surfing, and it is a widespread phenomenon in South Africa. The vast majority of surfers are under 25, and due to the highly dangerous nature of the activity, amputations of limbs and even deaths are not uncommon. In a context where violence, alcohol and drug abuse, rampant poverty, and AIDS reign supreme, train surfing symbolizes the search for social redemption that will never come for the characters of this story.

Another winner is First prize Long Feature: Witnessing Gezi, created with the recordings of photojournalist Emin Özmen who witnessed the protests against the urban development plan for Istanbul’s Taksim Gezi Park. Subsequently, the protests sparked supporting strikes across Turkey turning into a resistance movement of great importance for the country. ‘Witnessing Gezi’ shows the human aspect of this civil resistance, a crucial event of the last 30 years in Turkey.

Also on the list of winners is First prize Interactive Documentary: ‘A Short History of the Highrise’National Film Board of Canada / The New York Times

The jury chair Jassim Ahmad, global head of multimedia innovation Reuters, reflected: “It is remarkable that the number of entries to the contest has increased by one third since last year. The overall quality of submissions indicates that many more have a grasp of visual media - a promising indicator of things to come. The winners reflect many aspects of the human condition, such as family, culture, sport, conflict and politics.” He added:
 “There is clearly no one model for success in the practice. You can work in teams large and small; with the support of a major organisation or local community. The smallest stories can speak to wider truths. The possibilities of multimedia are immense.”
  
Jury member Marianne Lévy-Leblond commented:
“The notion of multimedia is changing all the time. We constantly find new trends in the field and we try to approach them differently every time. This is an evolving field and we should approach it as such. What fascinates me the most is the level of engagement. The entries had high levels of interaction, from the user experience to distribution, and the use of social media.”
  
Jury chair Jassim Ahmad summed up the categories:
“Across the feature prize winners, the common thread is revealing stories with strong characters at their heart. They are well told and vivid. When content is created for the web, it must grab your attention and hold it. We put ourselves in the shoes of the reader.
Interactive teams are employing a variety of visual tools and techniques. We looked for examples that are designed for the medium to explain more and bring you closer. All the winners in this category are evidence of exceptional teamwork.
Interactive entries also included some highly original concepts. We agreed innovation could not be at the expense of clarity. Communication is the essence of journalism.”
  
The judging was conducted at the World Press Photo office in Amsterdam, where the jury viewed all the entries and discussed their merits over a period of six days. A total of 373 multimedia productions were entered in the contest: Short Feature 254, Long Feature 56, Interactive Documentary 63.

Saturday 29 March 2014

For 35 years of October Gallery, Anatsui, Hazoume make 'Transvangarde' world of artists


By Tajudeen Sowole
Three and half decades of showing artists from around the world goes on celebration in the U.K, with an exhibition titled Transvangarde, opening from April 9 and ending May 3, 2014 at October Gallery, London.

The gallery, which prides itself as artists’ haven is organsing the exhibition as part of a 35th anniversary “as the first gallery in the United Kingdom to exhibit artists from around the world.”

The exhibition, according to a statement from Alana Pryce, October Gallery’s Press and Media manager, the show features works of El Anatsui, Kenji Yoshida, William S. Burroughs, Laila Shawa, Romuald Hazoumè, Gerald Wilde and Aubrey Williams.
Pryce said “October Gallery nurtures an enviable reputation throughout the world,” with artists “from over 80 countries.”

 From the Mask series of Romuald Hazoumè
Truly, African artists such as Anatsui and Hazoumè had their early lift into Europe through the shows organized by October Gallery. On Anatsui, for example, October Gallery noted that one of the artist’s works, a 2007  bottle-top wall-hangings, Fresh and Fading Memories “caused a quiet sensation” at the Venice Biennale 2007.

The gallery also promoted Anatsui’s work at Dubai Art Fair, 2010, where another large-scale masterpiece - In the World, but Don’t know the World (2009), reportedly attracted “great acclaim.” From then till date, the artists’ works “have continued to expand in size.”

For the native of Republic of Benin, Hazoumè, whose work was first spotted by critics and connoisseurs when his masks series featured in the Saatchi Gallery’s Out of Africa show, in 1992, October Gallery featured him at the Art Dubai Fair of 2013. The gallery had, severally, shown him in London.

The theme of the exhibition, October Gallery explained was coined based on the belief that artists exhibited so far were in search of fresh ideas.  “Coining the word Transvangarde, the founders aimed to exhibit the work of artists from around the world who were looking for new sensibilities,” Chili Hawes, Director and Co-founder of October Gallery comments:

The gallery recalled that in “1979, London was chosen as the place to locate this new venture due to its history as an Imperial world power and its location - It was a vibrant crossroads of cultures and ideas. Over the decades, the gallery has recognised the positive impact of cultural convergence, observing the attraction of a world city to those interconnected by citizenship, migration and economy.”

Led by Director, Chili Hawes and Artistic Director, Elisabeth Lalouschek, the gallery has since played a pioneering role in the promotion and exhibition of some of the most innovative and exciting artists of contemporary time, including
Aubrey Williams, Gerald Wilde, Kenji Yoshida, Brion Gysin, William S. Burroughs,

The gallery became a stage in the centre of London where an experimental piece of new drama was enacted and constantly developing, where artists and audiences alike participated in what Brion Gysin called, ‘third mind’.

The exhibition, 35 Years of Transvangarde contemporary art from around the planet, will celebrate the most exceptional artists in the gallery’s history - artists who although separated by continents, share a common sensibility.

Wednesday 26 March 2014

Two new statues of a Pharaoh found


Two colossal statues of Pharaoh Amenhotep III were, on Sunday, unveiled in Egypt’s famed temple city of Luxor, adding to an existing famous pair of world-renowned tourist attractions.
Visitors the newly-displayed statue of Pharaoh Amenhotep III in Egypt's temple city of Luxor on March 23, 2014. PHOTO C/O AFP
Archaeologists raised the two monoliths in red quartzite at a site described as their original places in the funerary temple of the king, on the west bank of the Nile.
Hourig Sourouzian, the German-Armenian archaeologist who head the restoration project stated: “The statues had lain in pieces for centuries in the fields, damaged by destructive forces of nature like earthquake, and later by irrigation water, salt, encroachment and vandalism."

The new statues add ti the temple’s famous 3,400-year-old Memnon colossi — twin statues of Amenhotep III whose reign marked the political and cultural zenith of ancient Egyptian civilization.

Monday 24 March 2014

Return of exclusive contents artists, Uwatse, Adewuyi in 'Affinity'


By Tajudeen Sowole
Abstract expressionist painter, Chinwe Uwatse and sculptor, Kenny Adewuyi are not the regular in-your-face kind of artists.

A sculpture When You Are Down by Kenny Adewuyi
The rarity of their works has found a common ground in an exhibition titled Affinity, showing from March 24 to April 30, 2014 at the fledging art and luxury design space Temple Muse, Victoria, Lagos, with the support of Veuve Clicquot 

With about three decades career on the canvas, and a recently opened studio in South of France, Uwatse is no doubt a well-known artist, but uncommon on the art exhibition circuit of her home country.

Coincidentally, Adewuyi also has a studio in France, but now hopes for a base in Nigeria.  

A consistent passionate promoter of native content, Uwatse keeps stressing the importance of Uli signs and motifs of the Igbo women in contemporary artistic expression. Even in South of France where sea and the sky synergise to the attention of the artist's watercolor brush strokes, Uli still finds a space. In one of the works for the show, which she titles Still Waters, the artist described the scenery as "amazing chemistry of sky and sea," expressed in the native signs and symbols.

Uwatse, a restless feminist continue to push the cause of women as three-piece paintings: Center of the Universe, Giver of Life and Ladies of Leisure rove over the scientific and spiritual proves of women as the “holders of the universe.”

Apart from painting, Uwatse also expresses her creative thoughts via poetry, which, usually comes as supportive content in her past exhibitions. Her last solo exhibition Burdens We Bear stressed her passion about the challenges of women and questionable societal perception. For Affinity, the poem, which represents his Artist Statement, dwells on life within the general context.

Three out of Adewuyi's six solo exhibitions were held in France. His last in Nigeria was Times of Life, in 2004, at Maison de France, Ikoyi, Lagos. Clearly, it could take a long scratch on the Lagos art scene to come across a piece by Adewuyi. He works in forms of exaggerated representational figures, mostly in maquette sizes. 

Most interesting about his sculptures are the emphasis on the feet of the subjects. With the pyramid-like styles of form rendition in Adewuyi 's sculpture, a basement is usually eliminated, which gives full worth of the art content without any intrusion to support the erection of the figure.

Thematically, some of his works in Affinity are influenced by a stint with northern Nigeria as an undergraduate at Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria. For example, Destitute, a young man depicted in needy appearance, he said, represents his experience of the Almajiris indigents. More significantly, the work, created during his masters programme at ABU was one of the artist's pathfinders at a period of his crossroad between form and material. "It was one of my experiments on forms at ABU."



Chinwe Uwatse’s The Universe is Me from Affinity.
Although the 20th century Italian sculptor, Alberto Giacometti's style immediately comes to mind seeing Adewuyi's work, the difference is the Nigerian's style of diminished-top and emphasised-base.  Quite of masterly touch among Adewuyi's works for Affinity is a seated figure When You Are Down

Every artist has a story of license into creative freedom to tell. For Adewuyi's journey into highly stylised figures, his inability to pay models for sculptures in the early period of his career offered the elongated forms option. "Because I could not afford to pay models for real figure sculpturing during my masters degree programme, I subconsciously chose elongation and exaggeration forms," the artist explained during a preview.

In his Artist Statement, Adewuyi reflected on what he described as his imploring of “exaggeration and elongation of the human figure to best portray and express my inner feelings about the subjects that I often see in my environment.”

In poetry, Uwatse’s Artist Statement urged her “people” to change from false to reality.  “What should you do 
To move beyond false notions
Odd potions To reach perpetual and real motion...”

The curator, Sandra Obiago-Mbanefo noted that the artists’ exhibition of 16 sculptures and 24 watercolors that are rarely seen in the country falls in line with the exclusivity of the luxury designs items in Temple Muse.

For the venue’s Artistic Director Avi Wadhwani, it’s  a great delight “that Adewuyi and Uwatse’s amazing works are kicking off our artistic season this year.”

Sunday 23 March 2014

'Playing With Chance'... Celebrating Anatsui, a 'Nigerian master born in Ghana', at 70


By Tajudeen Sowole

Inside the moderate art gallery space of the organisers, Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA), Lagos, admirers of master sculptor, El Anatsui and other enthusiasts had a rare opportunity of peeping into the renowned artist's studio.

It was a retrospective opening for the novel and special art exhibition titled Playing With Chance - still showing till April 12, 2014 - to celebrate the Ghanaian artist, Anatsui at 70. The contents of the exhibition suggest that CCA has lifted the artist's studio from Nsukka to Lagos.

Guest Speaker, Mrs Sinmidele Adesanya of Mydrim Gallery (left), director, Centre for Contemporary Art CCA, Lagos and the celebrant, Prof El Anatsui at the opening of the exhibition

 Born in Anyako, Ghana in February, 1944, Anatsui was trained a sculptor at the College of Art, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana from 1965 to 1968. From 1975 till date, he has been teaching sculpture at the University of Nigeria (UNN), Nsukka, Enugu State, Southeast of Nigeria.

Having spent a greater part of his professional career in Nigeria, Anatsui is among the world's renowned contemporary artists. Interestingly, his sudden rise into the international art space, which started over 13 years ago, coincided with the art world’s increasing interest, particularly in fresh materials and medium as well as contents of art. In fact, Anatsui's popularity across the world within a short period is perhaps unprecedented for any African artist. 

From his big size wood sculpture titled Monuments, to cloth series made of soft metal bottle tops, Anatsui's works, largely promoted by October Gallery, London, U.K in the late 1990s through early 2000s started ascending the global art graph with an unprecedented speed. 

Currently, he is arguably the most sought-after African artist; he is exhibited across the world, constantly.

Celebrating Anatsui at 70 in Nigeria with Playing With Chance confirms the country's art community’s claim over the artist's nationality. The guest speaker at the opening of the exhibition, Mrs Sinmidele Adesanya of Mydrim Gallery, Ikoyi, Lagos stressed the point when she described Anatsui as "the only Nigerian master born in Ghana."

Indeed the aggressive and ebullience of creative contents in the work of Anatsui and its incendiary into global fame, within a short period, are typically of the assertiveness characteristics of Nigerians. Anatsui's work and fame have confirmed that the environment, in which an artist works, irrespective of the peculiar challenges, cannot be divorced from the tone of the art produced. 

This much also resonates in the contents of Playing With Chance, an exhibition, which summarises the on and off studio behaviour of Anatsui, in the last three and half decades or more. Glassed in a box-like presentation at the immediate entrance of the gallery are reviews, mostly from newspaper cuttings on the artist's work, published within and outside Africa. Included are other reviews written by the artist for exhibition catalogues and journals.

And if it were possible to read the mind of a master, through the taste of his collection of other artists, a set of works tagged From the Collection of El Anatsui offers a clue into the thoughts of the celebrant. The works, glassed against the wall, are actually selected from 35 pieces created by one of Anatsui’s colleague at UNN, Prof Uche Okeke, 'from 1938 to 1981.'

If you ever wondered how Anatsui's wood works started, a collection of Omooba Yemisi Shyllon, of the artist, dated 1973, offers a clue: the two-piece saucers, in wood with native African designs of motifs and signs draw a thin line between art and craft.

Memories of the master’s knowledge transfer to the future come in three of the works of his ex-students Nnenna Okore,  Lucy Azubuike and Amarachi Okafor shown at the event.

From the wood panels to pieces of soft metals sewn together, the themes of Anatsui's work have been expressed, basically, with focus on native African fabrics, some of which include, Tsiatsia, Man’s cloth, Duvor, Gawu, New World Map. However, material or medium has been so profound, changing at unhurried pace too. At 70, the artist is not getting younger, but his art is. How much of time is really left to accommodate more material and forms?  “I do not know now," he told me during a chat shortly before the celebration opened formally at CCA. "The medium I use changes, sometimes it comes when I am even unprepared."

If Anatsui were not in the academia, his art would, most likely have been confined to craft, particularly during the era he set out to broaden the scope of contemporary sculpture.


A section of the guests during Playing With Chance

Adesanya recalled meeting Anatsui for the first time in 2000 during a Bisi Silva collaborative project with Ford Foundation. Convinced that the artist "has taken sculpture beyond the boundaries the we used to know," Adesanya's Mydrim Gallery would later, in 2001, along with Nimbus Gallery, Lagos, showed 11 graduating students of Anatsui in a group exhibition titled New Energies. Curated by the teacher, the exhibition featured works of students: Joseph Eze, Aneke, Chika, Ezeani, Chiamaka

Kanu, Chikaogwu Lorliam, Martin Nnadi, Chidi Onyishi, Eramus
Okore, Onuzulike, Ozioma and Onyishi, Uchechukwu.

The response from mainstream Lagos art scene to the exhibition, according to Adesanya was like: ‘are these really art?' 'Why did Mydrim accept these as art?' But 13 years after, speaking about the same artist who inspired the controversial exhibition, Adesanya was joyous and stated: "I am glad that Anatsui is the only Nigerian master born in Ghana who is one of the greatest artists in the world today.” She added that the artist, even at 70, "has not reached his limit yet."

A fellow Ghanaian and artist, Rikki Wemega -Kwawu who was in Lagos for the first time, just to celebrate Anatsui, also acknowledged the global status of the artist and prayed, "God gives him long life to continue."

Curator of Playing with Chance, Silva told the gathering that, for CCA, it was innovative to celebrate, differently, an artist whose works have been shown all over the world.  “The exhibition is shaped primarily through archival material in an attempt to present an alternative insight into the work and career of the artist.”

Some of the materials include the artist’s letters, planning strategies for exhibitions and business documents on transactions, even as odd an exhbit as the artist’s salary pay slips at UNN for over 36 years.

From one of the artist’s most recent exhibitions, a solo titled Gravity and Grace: Monumental Works by El Anatsui, held last year at Brooklyn Museum, New York, U.S, comes an interview shown as video installation at CCA.

Anatsui’s exploits on the global art market gave him an auction record in 2013. It was a world record at Bonhams’ Africa Now art auction in the U.K, which had the artist’s woven tapestry of flattened bottle caps, titled 'New World Map' sold for £541, 250 ($850,544). According to Bonhams, “The huge masterwork by El Anatsui (born 1944) – a magisterial tapestry measuring 11ft by 16ft (350x500cm) - is similar to work the artist has shown at the Venice Biennale.”

On the art exhibitions and special commission space abroad, Anatsui, in 2008 made a double. In his tour exhibition Gawu continued at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art, Washington, DC. The tour had took off a year earlier at Fowler Museum, University of California, UCLA, Los Angeles.

Also in May, 2008, Anatsui emerged as the third artist recorded on London's Channel 4 sculptural work known as The Big 4, an installation that brings the '4' logo to life on the steps of the channel's Horse ferry Road headquarters.

During one of his past exhibitions, the artist had disclosed the inspiration behind his cloth themes as emanating from the popular Ghanaian fabric, Kente, a strip-woven cloth of the Asante and Ewe peoples of Ghana and Togo. Anatsui explained: "It is a festive dress for special occasions-traditionally worn by men as a kind of toga and by women as an upper and lower wrapper."

Some of Anatsui’s solo exhibitions included Earth Growing Roots, SDSU University Art Gallery, San Diego State University (2009); El Anatsui: Nyekor, Spazio Rossana Orlandi, Milan (2006); El Anatsui: Gawu, Oriel Mostyn Gallery, Llandudno (2003–2008); Hakpa, French Cultural Centre, Lagos (1997); El Anatsui, October Gallery, London (1995); Old and New: An Exhibition of Sculpture in Assorted Wood, National Museum, Lagos (1991); Venovize: Ceramic Sculptures, Faculty of Arts and Design, Cornwall College (1987); Pieces of Wood: An Exhibition of Mural Sculpture, The Franco-German Auditorium, Lagos (1987); Sculptures, Photographs, Drawings, Goethe-Institut, Lagos (1982); Wood Carvings, Community for the Arts, Cummington, Massachusetts (1980); Broken Pots: Sculpture by El Anatsui, British Council Enugu/Institute of African Studies, University of Nigeria Nsukka (1979); Wooden Wall Plaques, Asele Art Gallery, Nsukka (1976).

The artist is a recipient of several honours and awards such as Prince Claus Award, Prince Claus Fund for Culture and Development, Amsterdam (2009); Public's Prize, 7. Triennale der Kleinplastik, Stuttgart (1999); Bronze Prize, 9th Osaka Sculpture Triennale (1998); Kansai Telecasting Corporation Prize, Osaka Sculpture Triennale (1995); Honorable Mention (joint), 44th Venice Biennial (1990); Honorable Mention, 1st Ghana National Art Competition, Accra (1968).

Saturday 22 March 2014

Syria’s monument, castle of Krak des Chevaliers recaptured


Picture of the castle as a Syrian soldier looks at at, Thursday. PIC C/O BBC.

The historic castle of Krak des Chevaliers in Syria, near the border of Lebanon, has been recovered by Syrian Government forces, news sources have disclosed.
For two years, the medieval castle, which has been under the grip of Syrian rebels came under heavy bombardment last year. It is regarded as one of the most important historic castles in the world.

In Glistening, young naturalist master, Oresegun expands the boundary


By Tajudeen Sowole
Drips, splashes and flows of water, captured with paint brush on canvas just like images on an IMAX-3D cinema are the strength of young artist, Olumide Oresegun.

Oresegun had announced his entry into the Lagos art circuit in 2011 when he showed a debut solo, Moment of Reason, at Mydrim Gallery, Ikoyi, in an exhibition that refreshed memories of classic painting of naturalism themes. The artist is back as he opens his second solo exhibition titled Glistening, tomorrow, at the same venue.

In this era of highly contentious contemporaneity of art contents, Oresegun’s canvas insists that the great realism paintings by Leonardo Da Vinci, Rembrandt, Michelangelo are the most valuable pieces of art till date for the painstakingness invested by the artists.  

One of the bathing secens in Olumide Oresegun’s Glistening.

Ahead of the opening of Glistening, the display of works inside the ground floor of the gallery glaringly showed that indeed, Oresegun had something to flaunt: the water drips, plashes and flows dominated the walls, just as the artist’s skill in photo finish style painting is loud in the largely children themes. He explained that “children in their natural environment attracts my attention.” These include bathing and playing scenes.

Three years after his first solo, what exactly is Glistening bringing that Moment of Reason did not? He said "I am inspired by simple everyday scenes," disclosing how he enjoys "watching children at play totally uninhibited converting all around them into toys and games. I am motivated to capture these scenes on canvas."

Still on the children theme, the artist flaunts his lighting technique, particularly in 0a light scene where the kids use fossil fuel lantern. Though works like that of Oresegun are taken for granted, the domination of the contemporary art space with non-naturalism contents of representational themes, might in the near future place rarity on naturalism.

Aside the water effects, drumming also attracts the artist’s canvas, capturing scenes across the age barriers. In one of the works titled Behind the Stage, an after performance scene of street drummers, comes a revelation in the method by which the drummers keep their earnings.  Oresegun’s brushing picks the drummers as they pour naira notes out of the shekere (beaded maracas).

And just to answer the curiosity on how the effects are achieved, the artist disclosed that “I have  been able to achieve-this real life effect of water on canvas by painting in layers.”

The gallery, which is known for discovering new artists and bringing in innovations noted that after the artist’s first solo “Oresegun has honed his skills.” The curator, Sinmidele Ogunsanya argued that “his paintings of water scenes are so 'real' you almost feel the water splashing on you from the canvas.” She added that “the fruits in his still life works look 'real' enough to pick and eat.”


Oresegun had his Higher National Diploma (HND) certificate from Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, Nigeria in 2006.
Some of his group shows are: The God Of Ages, 2002, Didi Museum, Victoria Island, Lagos:  Where The Journey Ends And Begins, 2004, Yusuf Grillo Gallery, Yaba.
 In 2005, he won the third prize at the Goethe Institut/Chidi Kwubiri Competition, organized by Goethe Institute, Lagos, Nigeria.