Colourists Project New Order

Painting its identity to the world and art connoisseurs through a group art exhibition of abstract pieces had lingered in the colourists for some time now. And at Terra Kulture art Gallery, it was an opportunity to spread that gospel at its just concluded show last month. Rebecca Ejifoma reports

Festival by Okijeni

Titled New Order, the exhibition of paintings and mixed media, ran from September 20 to 30 at the gallery in Victoria Island Lagos. Art aficionados tasted this much of their cocktail on canvas when the artists  Olu Ajayi, Sam Ovraiti, Toni Okujeni and Pita Ohiwerei popped out their arrays.

It was a platform to spur a new phase for the Nigerian art. Three of the artists: Ajayi, Ovraiti and Okujeni are among those that were christened "Colourists" in the 1980s for adding a new texture of colour to Lagos art. Thereafter, Ohiwerei and others of like minds joined the trend.

Prior to the emergence of these artists and others who were trained at Auchi Polytechnic, Edo State, the canvas of Lagos art scene, and perhaps by extension, the rest of Nigeria was not – in the argument of a section of observers and critics - as diverse.  The Colourists, so suggest critics, brought more “vibrant colour” onto the canvas. In fact, the Auchi art school seemed to have stressed its identity of producing artists of 'vibrant' application of collours via the influence that Ajayi, Ovraiti, Edwin Debebs, Ikoro Emmanuel, Ekpeni Emmanauel, Okujeni, Osazuwa Osagie, Ben Osaghae,  Ohiwerei, Lessor Jonathan, Alex Nwokolo and others had welded over the Nigerian art scene.

 
Within the scope of the dynamics that has thrown up new and non-traditional medium, appropriating and conceptualising of art and with the aim to strengthen their modernists’ identity, they exuded their over 40 works. However the difference between the 1980s/90s art from the 21st century's visual arts space is being redefined by the energy of contemporary art.

Despite an unprecedented increase in appreciation of Nigerian art in the last six to seven years, the walls of galleries and contents of some sections of the art scenes appear static; laced with repetitive themes and copying as well as subconscious transfer of old styles and techniques from masters to young artists with diminishing creativity. But the 'Colourists' who take a chunk of credit and praises - perhaps knocks too - for the state of a largely conservative art scene in Nigeria are set to inject what they believe would pass as new face. More importantly, its quite cheering that at least, the need to open up the regimented art house and modulate the tone of Nigerian art is coming from a section of those who dominate the third/fourth generation the country's modernists.

"After 30 years, we are coming together to re-present the state of our art," Ovraiti told select guests during a preview of New Order. He went memory lane to the 19th century period of impressionism, comparing the challenges of the pioneers to the emergence of Nigeria's Colourists. Three decades after, they are revisiting the art scene  "to reinstate freedom, purity and quality in the result that shows in our art."

Ajayi was more precise: "New Order is about separating art from picture making." And having received the knocks of critics for being repetitive in their themes, the Colorrists, other artists they have inspired over the past two decades and their followers need to surrender to the reality of change, so suggested the argument of Ajayi. "It's also about self-expression and getting out of the regimented art scene of doing the same thing all over." Being the promoters of impasto and creative application of colour in the Nigerian art scene, "we now want to move beyond this," Okujeni added.

The dynamics of Nigerian art scene in the last two decades or more has excavated quite a number of groups such as professional bodies as well as movements. And the New Order artists appear like another movement in the making. “It’s a consciousness, not a movement,” Ajayi clarified.

Reviewing the past two decades of the Nigerian art, Ovraiti noted that “New truths have been revealed and more colourists have also emerged.” However, it does appear that the line between the modern and contemporary Nigerian art is blurring. For example, all of a sudden the word 'conceptual' which the visual arts world has arrogated to a particular kind of art outside the Renaissance and modernists or Fine Arts terrains is suddenly appearing across the board. Refusing to be shut out of the confined contemporary definition, the New Order artists disclosed that the works for the show are "conceptual." This appears like a total confrontation against the tide of contemporaneity, isn't it? "Art does not have to be performance, installation or some masquerades now known as art to be conceptual." Ovraiti argued. Indeed, in common and ordinary usage, it could be argued that most creative works across the Arts - visual arts, music, film, theatre- are conceptual, anyway. But it takes what looks like the threat of contemporary art or "fad" for other artists of regular and traditional expression in Fine Arts to challenge the confinement of conceptualism to contemporary medium such as installation and performance art.

In the work of Ohiwerei, the change, from repetitive to wider themes and textures is glaring. His works such as Dance Spirit, Chibok Unending Story and Market though appear familiar, the texture and contents are not exactly his usual.

 For Ovraiti and Ajayi, traditions and identity are hard to be swept away so soon, so suggest their works that have traces of fresh breath within the context of conceptuality. In fact, Ovraiti warned that the past cannot be frozen so soon as much as a new dawn is crucial. “This exhibition could witness some recurrent themes. The driving force for looking back if we did is to revisit a previous result from our current level of enlightenment and awareness. After all, artists draw from their inside, foresight and insight. Looking at hindsight sometimes enables a new result.”

And if medium of expression and usage of materials are the key characteristics of contemporary or conceptual art, Okujeni imbibes such in Festival, a mixed media basically rendered in buttons to achieve what looks like pointillism.

Ovraiti has applied his art to outside the art exhibition circle, mostly in the workshops and mentorship sections of art development. In fact, he is currently the director at Nigeria’s most consistent yearly art gathering, the Harmattan Workshop.

Ajayi: has more than 28 years professional experience, and was recently given a Fellow, Society of Nigerian Artist. He is a founding member and Trustee of the Guild of Professional Fine Artist. His bio states in parts: Ajayi’s metaphoric vocabulary is also deeply rooted in the body, his ultimate vehicle in expressing life’s dualities. His sensuous colors, sweeping strokes and narrative content place the human figure on a grand scare, while the dramatic cropping of figures and forms emphasizes the immediacy of the paint. Ajayi has also achieved recognition for his remarkable watercolors in grey scare executed in a broad gestural technique.

In 1993, Ajayi was listed in Who is Who in Art in Nigeria published by the Smithsonian Institute and Libraries. In 2004 he won the best Alumnus Award of Auchi Polytechnic

Okujeni, a former art illustrator at the defunct Guardian Express magazine has been a full time studio artist in the past 25 years. Having taken his art across Africa, he is currently seen as the face of Nigerian art in Senegal.

Okujeni’s past exhibitions included His past exhibitions included Nigerian contemporary cartoons United State Information Center, Lagos 1986; Treasure House Salon-  1989; Treasure house exhibition- 1989; Exhibition of art, Shell Club Warri-  1991; two-men show Leventis Foundation Centre- 1992;  Colour masters, Didi museum, Lagos- 1993; The way we are- NiconNoga Abuja-  1994;  Impastoes something special gallery Lagos -  1995; Valley of decision- National Museum-  1996; Ecole de Dakar exhibition-  GalerieYassine 1998; One man show-GalerieYassine 199;  Assilah Forum Exhibition- Morocco- 1998; Exhibition of painting- Polo Club Lagos 1999; and Three man show National Musuem, Onikan, Lagos 2012.

Based in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., Ohiwerei has experimented in a quite a number of techniques and came up with series such as scratchee. His bio states that he has had solo exhibitions across Europe, Africa and U.S “where he has won numerous awards.

Olawunmi Banjo Shows Mind Revolution

Rebecca Ejifoma

 

Banjo in the art

After over a decade of building her career through several group art exhibitions and fulltime studio practice, Olawunmi Banjo takes a step further to share her achievements with arts aficionados through her first solo art exhibition  to hold at the Nike Art Centre in Lekki, Lagos from November 1 to 7 this year. 

 

The exhibition of paintings on canvas, titled “Mind Revolution”, will exude over 20 abstract pieces. According to the artist in an interview in Lagos recently, “Mind Revolution” is tailored towards re-orientating the mindsets of our people towards progressiveness, and how creative minds and ideas in Nigeria and Africa at large can be empowered. She said: “If people start to develop the initiative of thought to invest adequately in creative mind resources and ideas, then attention will be a bit deviated from focusing mainly on natural resources.

 

“From my observation as an artist, I have discovered that many creative talents are discouraged and frustrated in attaining their creative potential due to the lack of adequate structures and sufficient support. Our best export is human resources and capital. On a daily basis, we export our best and finest minds that we sorely need for our overall development,” she said.

 

The artist, who hopes to unveil diverse creativity through her show, explained that Africa should quit being the largest consumer of global innovations, and our ideas should be part of the global market and contribute relevant innovations for global consumption. Many intellectuals and creative minds have left and some are even still leaving the continent due to a lack of appreciation of their creativity in their home countries. In her words, “they are adding enormous value to other continents. People from other continents observe us, create basic solutions to our problems, and then they eventually sell those solutions back to us. We have not taken a step backwards to notice the intellectual decadence we’re swimming in.”

 

One of the artist's pieces

The works depict a child in a failed system but looking beyond the failed system and reaching towards achieving his potential. Regardless of the societal depravity, he still makes conscious efforts to have a positive mindset, which will enable him to make his environs relevant, and eventually to have a ripple effect. The exhibition, Mind Revolution, is to make us see that we are more than a consuming continent, particularly when we stop focusing mainly on natural resources and channel our mental productivity towards creative ideas and innovations that are globally relevant, which is very possible to achieve. “Self-awareness, self-acceptance, self-appreciation, self-support alongside love for our own, needs to be engraved deep in our hearts; I will instill the message in my own little way, but more needs to be done individually and collectively for Africa as a continent to be globally relevant by making a positive impact.”

 

Through her arrays, the artist maintained that “our” minds are the creative centre of our country and continent. Hence, everyone needs a positive, progressive mind revolution to enable him or her to have a collective perception and reasoning to help rise above the tribal mentality, so that we can stop being a self-enslaving entity.

In her Artist Statement, Olawunmi disclosed that “art is my passion and is the medium that I use to create my ideas, add value, and convey messages to the people. I am very optimistic about the development of Africa; in my works, I infuse the mindset needed to achieve this. I have found surrealism and realism useful in depicting my ideas. This enables people who view my works to grasp the embedded message in each piece.”

 

Also, she enthused that she is influenced mostly by things she sees, experiences, and feels; adding that most of her new body of artworks take a mental depiction of the real world and the realities of some aspects of life. Mostly, she talks about the mind, which is one of the most profound mechanisms for either positive change or total destruction of the globe. Seeing that the first thing that can be changed in the world is the mindset of an individual and how he perceives himself and his environment, then the next, his society and the world at large.

 

Therefore, to buttress her quest further to art enthusiasts some of the works to be displayed are “Conscious Break”, “Consciously Thriving”, “Hidden Potential”, “Mind Mechanism”, “Mind Influence”, “Comforter”, “Choice of Freedom 1, 2 and 3”, “The Other Side”, “Transcending Thoughts”, “Illumine 1 & 2”, “Progressivism” and “Awakening” among others.

 

Explaining her piece, Olawunmi stated that “Hidden Potential” speaks to people who do not explore their inner-mind abilities. Due to some circumstances, they have built a barrier around their potential; they have found comfort and solace in this self-built barrier, breeding mediocrity. “They feel limited by their environs and do not bother to explore their inner potential and abilities. People with this mindset find it hard to see this potential waking up to reality. It gets recycled from generation to generation.”

 

According to her, many centuries ago, people learned to summon inventions from within, and from available resources and possibilities for the future without information and technology. They dared to form their ideas and do great things. We are benefiting massively from most of their inventions and innovations. Some of their ideas have evolved into better innovations by likeminded people.

It is paramount to crack the barrier open and unleash your full string of potential. With information and technology at our finger tips, I don’t see why we should not do better, knowing that we have relatively better facilities than they had access to centuries ago. Permanent liberation from self-limiting ideologies can be achieved by purifying the mind—having positively right mindsets towards challenges with critical and problem solving ideas. God has hidden a multitude of treasures in this world. It is left for us to discover them and make proper use of them.

           

For Conscious Mind, she says a conscious mind survives and thrives in seemingly hopeless situations. Some circumstances are there to force the true potential out of an individual. Challenges, if perceived as bedrock for failure, will definitely produce failure unless you think otherwise. If your attitude towards where you live is positive, you will take it as a responsibility to improve it. Visionaries survive in exigent situations.

 

Meanwhile, Olawunmi expressed that Africa is a reflection of the predominant mindset of the people in it. So is any other continent. What you constantly think of is what you will definitely attract. It starts with the individual who has the capacity to make everything around him or her potent, which will definitely have a ripple effect. Emanate from a consciousness to improve, enhance, and make positive contributions to hopeless situations around you. You can achieve this by deploying all resources available within your power and putting them to best use with the right attitude — this will end up reviving what’s around you. Critical advancement will be generated when there is a mental and attitudinal revolution from within.

 

The graduate of Pan African University Lagos State, the creative painter has featured in group exhibitions including “Canopy” By Conoco Philips at the Nike Art Gallery, Lekki Lagos in 2012; 5th International All Female Art Exhibition “Colours & Creativity” at the National Museum, Onikan-Lagos 2012; the female section of the Send forth Exhibition for the U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria Dr. Robin Renee Sanders at the Nike Art Gallery in 2010; interpreted the logo for 50 @ 50: Nigerian Women, the Journey so far in Abuja in 2010; the Ikoyi Club 1938, Golf Section “Art of Golf” by A.A.R.C. in 2009 and at the 2nd Annual Art Exhibition “Fyne ArtDiction”, Southern Sun Hotel Ikoyi, Lagos 2009 among several others. She also clinched the 2nd prize Award at The Experience Nigeria 2008 Art competition organized by A.A.R.C. Titled "Nigerians at work.