The problems plaguing the country topped the paintings and drawings by Duke Asidere at his solo art exhibition, Mental Space, which kicked on July 4 at the Wheatbaker Hotel, Ikoyi, Lagos.
The exhibition, which ends on September 15, is Asidere’s first solo show at the Wheatbaker; it is sponsored by Wheatbaker and Louis Guntrum Wines. The exhibition curator is Sandra Mbanefo Obiago.
The works feature 38 paintings on paper and canvas, mirroring the many dilemmas in Nigeria. From inadequate power supply to bad governance, impunity, insecurity, senseless looting of national treasury, ethnicity and religious intolerance, among others, Asidere uses his paintings and drawings as platforms for the interrogations of these challenges. The exhibits are in four compartments: Power series, sketches, faces and signature form.
Asidere uses human figure as his central object and subject, be it sketchy drawing or painting. Though his drawing and painting complement each other, the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria trained artist believes that ‘’art is a mirror of life, reflecting the eras we go through and the influence they impart on us. It is not tied to mediums, but a mental and emotional space that insulates us from all that’s around’’.
He said artists should enjoy their art and create for intrinsic reasons, not on demand. “Art is not only for the present. It is a documentation of the present, projects the future, and outlives the artist. Each artist must work in these three spaces – the present, the future and then leave a legacy. It is not about the quantity produced, but the quality and drive,” he said during a preview session of his works in Lagos.
Thematically, Asidere uses Mental Space to interrogate some of the old stereotypes and mindset that often stole the fire of disunity while drawing attention to critical challenges people go through to survive in Nigeria. One of such is One man, One generator, a painting on electricity supply, which has hit an all time low in many decades. Power and Darkness is another painting that dwells on the implications of inadequate power supply on the people.
Unlike Victims of information, which is a busy work of acrylic, pen, and pastel on canvas, Power and Darkness is a broad painting of an entire canvas in dark colour with few dotted white and red spots to illustrate the ratio of darkness and light in today’s Nigeria.
With minimal illustrations, Asidere also relives his mental memories of his ever-growing neighbourhood of Orelope, a suburb in Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State in Discovering Orelope Street.
The work, though shows little visuals, is a product of the artist’s mental negotiations of what to reflect on canvas about the transformation of the street. Hence, he uses faces (of dialoguing entrepreneurs who are mainly women) turned to different directions of the canvas as only visuals on the plain yellow piece.
Other exhibits on display are Story Time, Simple Dreams, Looking Ahead, Headless Figures, Distortion facts and Historical Lies and The Day Off.
No doubt, Asidere is among Nigeria’s most talented contemporary artists. For over 25 years, he has commented on Nigeria’s socio-political landscape through various genre, including pencil, engravings, oil and acrylic, pastels, and collage. His practice all these years speak to artistic boldness and confidence. To many of his admirers and followers, the former art teacher at Auchi Polytechnic, Edo State is as restless as his sketches and drawings, which he does effortlessly at any given spare time.
On the state of the nation, Asidere said in as much as ‘’we crave for a better world, everyone needs sanity and peace in the society for growth. Unfortunately, the government never had the political will to deal with corruption because anyone who steals a handset is sent to jail while treasury looters go to court in entourage of security guards and sympathisers who wear Aso ebi (uniformed dress).
According to the curator of the exhibition, Sandra, Asidere’s drawing of the market woman selling tomatoes with dollar price doodles scribbled in the shadows is a wry commentary on Nigeria’s runaway exchange rates and galloping inflation apparently asphyxiating even the sale of locally grown produce.
“Duke looks at painting from the lens similar to that of many older masters. This is the lens of simplicity – the lens of sincerity,” wrote the famous artist, Gani Odutokun (1946-1995) who mentored Asidere while teaching at Ahmadu Bello University.
“Duke possesses the kind of sincerity that has brought enormous recognition to artists, such as abstract expressionists – Philip Guston & De Kooning. These are artists who feel the urge to say something and will not like to be inhibited no matter how unpalatable to the society, what they might have to say. They will not create even a square centimeter of a picture just to please. But paint they will, to express an inner urgency. Duke belongs to this fold.”
Sandra explains that Mental Space is Asidere’s external response to an internal, multi-layered landscape of deep thought, questions, and critique.
“Through his drawings, he challenges us to reflect on a constantly changing political context, in which he highlights the crazy and controversial excesses in our lives with bold, often humorous poignancy,” she adds.