Through the ages, group exhibitions are a common phenomenon that artists of like minds explored to showcase their creative cum artistic expressions and productions. Soulfulness is one of such stories of different artists with a verisimilitude perspective to aesthetic projections coming forth in a group show. Coming from different artistic backgrounds, school of thoughts and generation gap in terms of age and practice of these artists are duly and well reflected in their works of art.
Kunle Adeyemi Studio in Mushin, Lagos, is the base and professional starting point of some of these artists. The studio was also the venue of the first show of the group in 2013 with the title, “Open Studio 1” (Open Studio exhibition catalogue, 2013). “Dialogue of Forms” was the title of their second show, held at Reconnect Art Gallery, Ebute Meta, 2014 (Dialogue of Forms exhibition catalogue, 2014).
According to Oduyele, “The group did not function under any particular name in their 2013 Open Studio exhibition. But, they were already established as a group with the name: The Visual Explorators, before staging their 2014 show.” It was the 2014 exhibition that ushered the name: The Visual Explorators, into contemporary Nigerian art.
Adeyemi is a rallying point of most of the artists in this exhibition, and also the arrow head of the group. He is the oldest of the lot at 58, and also one of the teachers and inspiration of some members of the group. They all seem to have their own peculiar styles and approach which distinguishes each artist from the others in a unique manner.
Kunle Adeyemi, Tunde Oguntuyo, Biodun Okemakinde, Adetola Adenuga, Olushegun Oduyele, Bashir Kalejaiye, Dayo Adeyemi, and Luqman Jimoh are the consistent original eight artists who were involved in the first and second shows. They are also taking part in this third exhibition: Soulfulness. K. K. Olojo-Kosoko was the only notable addition to the group in their second outing. He is also taking part in Soulfulness as well as newcomers: Aladegbongbe Aderinsoye, Hodonu Nathaniel, and Isaac Joseph.
These four artists added to the ones mentioned earlier complete the list of the 12 artists taking part in Soulfulness. It must be stated that the two previous shows of the group had 12 artists in each of the two separate shows, thus there must something special about a dozen artists.
When three members of the group (Oguntuyo, Okemakinde, and Oduyele) were asked about the number of artists taking part in their shows, or if they pegged the number at a specific number? Tunde Oguntuyo says: “We were originally ten in number, but due to extraneous factors, we had to bring in some new members because nothing is perfect or rigidly fixed about group shows. Things can change at any time; we were not fixated about the number of artists that will take part in the show. Whatever the eventual number that exhibited, it just happened, we never planned to stop at a particular number of artists.”
In Biodun Okemakinde’s words: “Whatever the number of artists that exhibited, we did not peg it at twelve or whatever, it was accidental, it just happened. There was no restriction on number of artists, but for some special or personal reasons which lead to some staying out and new faces coming into the picture.”
Oduyele also echoed similar sentiments in his reply, towing the same line with his two colleagues. He said: “We never peg the number at any specific number of artists, but due to financial and other reasons, some original members are not able to take part.” The issue of financial (economics) and other debilitating sociocultural challenges have been bedeviling artists and their works for many years in Nigeria but the show must go on.
Twelve artists will be taking part in the exhibition, but for some strange reason it appears as if they are much more than a dozen. After some critical appraisal of their works, it is noteworthy to mention that their thematic foci are as diverse as the different participating artists’ dreams. It is these large volumes of content and contextual varieties that made a media based classification of the exhibits appropriate because of time and space requirement.
Prints/Mixed Media and Paintings are the two media employed in the execution of most of the artworks. Adeyemi is a renowned printmaker, who has metamorphosed into a mixed media impresario, especially after his “paintogragh’ and ‘paintocast” Ph.D. Studio led terminologies. In recent times, he felt saver with the generalised simpler term of “mixed media” as his artistic medium of communication.
Adeyemi’s “Paintograph’ or ‘Paintocast” are more or less a creative slice of printmaking technique and painting to produce a finish work of art. The works could easily be tag as mixed media from a simplistic perspective, but when critically analysed, they then put on the toga of paintocast or paintograph. He has a mixed media, and a paintocast work in this show.
Oguntuyo, Okemakinde, Oduyele, and Kalejaiye are exhibiting various printmaking based mixed media works. Some of these works were produced using the paintograph/paintocast approach, but they would rather stick to mixed media in the medium or media labelling of their works.
Paintings are an ever-present face in visual art exhibitions across the globe, Lagos in Nigeria is no exception. K. K. Olojo-Kosoko’s ever vibrant landscapes, Alade-gbongbe Aderinsoye’s peculiar dialogue on canvas, Jimoh Luqman’s nascent colour adventures, and Adeyemi’s sincere attempts as well as Isaac Joseph’s subjective expressions represent the painting genre without scuffles. Adetola Adenuga is a painter and print maker. His entries for this show are three mixed media with more sculptural bent with prints and painting techniques as backups. Sculptural tendencies are noticeable features in the two exhibits of Nathaniel Hodonu which is a clear-cut departure from the rest of the works in this show, but they were classed as mixed media by him because the term is more or less an open-ended term in visual arts.
Adeyemi’s paintocast work, Wheel of Fortune, and his mixed media, Drummers Ensemble are his two exhibits in Soulfulness. Adeyemi’s wheel of fortune are in ‘series’, they are all produced in the round shape format. They dwell on the mythical eternal rolling ‘wheel of fate’ chiseling, molding, sculpting and perfecting man’s destiny in the universe. With different iconography of man, the natural elements, and other life forms and matter depicted in the work for aesthetic finesse and purpose. Adeyemi achieved his goal of creating awareness on the certainty of fate from an African perspective.
Drummers Ensemble is a composition of five stylised adult male drummers, backed up by some sekere (African maraca) players with caps on their heads, dressed in Yoruba attires of reds, blues and sap greens. The essence which was achieved is to convey the universality of music with or without vocals from a Yoruba cum African talking drum perspective.
Oguntuyo’s Timeless Cock Crow, Moonlight Dancer, and Road to Nationhood are three mixed media works with various themes. While Timeless Cock Crow dwells on the ever-consistent timed conscious crowing of traditional cock(s) through the ages, Moonlight Dancer” is focused on a moonlight energetic maiden dancer, whereas “Road to Nationhood” is a lesson on catch them young for a brighter future for our nation.
- Amodu is a Lagos based art historian.
“Communion” is a socio-religious commentary on two Christian sisters who are deeply trying to communicate their intentions to God. The two-stylized form of praying sisters on their kneels represent the church’s congregation of Christ, with the symbolic Christian Cross in the background. An ambience of strong faith, deep prayer and divine presence was expressed with different colours of blues, reds, yellows, white, green, and black lines flowing around the mostly white cross and covering the background. The prayer filled stylized hands can be more prayerful, otherwise it is a successful work all the way.
“Aje”, “Flower Verse”, and “Benin Dancers” are Bashir Kalejaiye’s three mixed media in Soulfulness. Kalejaiye’s three works show sincerity, clarity of forms and straight to the point tendencies in forms and contexts. In “Aje”, he depicts a beautiful calabash with decorative motifs on a background of traditional motifs. But the main theme which is the Yoruba word: “Aje” simply means wealth in English. It was represented with cowries in the composition. Cowries are the traditional Yoruba symbol of wealth as well as been a legal tender in the past before the arrival of Europeans on our continent. It is this symbolic essence of cowries as wealth, “Aje”, that Kalejaiye formally employed leading to a successful contextual finishing/discourse.
“Flower Verse” is a simple straight forward portrayal of a verse filled with flowers. The flowers in this picture are uncharacteristically disenchanted instead of being enchanting and very attractive. “Benin Dancers” is a stylized rendering of five Bini female dancers. The ladies are also playing the African maracas. Just like “Flower Verse”, the mood in the work is dull and not bright or joyful in nature for a scene of well adorned bejeweled dancers. Maybe the dull and economic hard times that we are presently facing in Nigeria are unconsciously guiding Kalejaiye in his “Flower Verse” and “Benin Dancers”.
Adetola Adenuga’s “I am beautiful”, and “Friends of like mind I’ and ‘II” are three mixed media with more sculptural tendencies than prints and painting. “I am beautiful” is a social commentary on the back in vogue Afro-hair style of our ladies. The heart shaped well make-up stylized face of the lady with an Afro-hair style in “I am beautiful” is unmistakable because her head occupied nearly the whole space in the work which is more or less her intention. She wants to be noticed because she is beautiful. It is her strong believe that she is beautiful, thus; she is a beauty. What one believe is very important in life which is the contextual message of the work. She is seductive, inviting and attractive with an elaborate Afro made up of cut-out wooden decorative motifs. The dark background helped announced her yellowish painted face and Afro in a bold beautiful finish.
“Friends of like mind I’ and ‘II” are founded on the message of unity, trust and understanding, togetherness and love. These are direly desired qualities that we need in our lives and nation to survive as one entity. Adenuga used friendship based on the story of three “girl friends” to pass across this very important message. The work, “Friends of like mind I”, is a wooden cut-out of both relief and recessed impressions, cutting out decorative motifs and the figures of the three ladies in a unique manner and adding some blended soothing harmonious colours of white, yellow, orange, blue, and rose red to complete the fine piece. “Friends of like mind II” is an abstract version with metal ear-rings, two lipstick rose red coloured patches and smaller whitish painted rectangular stick out on either side of the identical hollowed wood work. This symmetry signifies the strong bond of friendship between the three ladies in an identical symbolic mode.
“Oju to nsoro” and “Seek and Find” are Nathaniel Hodonu’s exhibits in Soulfulness. The two-abstract works are in the round format, produced with coconut shells and plastic bottle covers on plywood. An ideal translation of this Yoruba expression, “Oju to nsoro” to English is duly captured as; seductively bewitching eyes. “Oju to nsoro” is mainly a message on seductively bewitching and inviting eyes. He uses plastic bottles of different colours of white, orange, yellow, green, red, and blue in tandem with coconut shells to pass across his message. In “Seek and Find”, Hodonu was more creative in his portrayal of a festive scene of a seeker, who has found success. With delicacies and over-flowing cups of wines going back and forth, flying up and down, brownish gaily dressed crowds of well-wishers surround the celebrant in the center with colours of ‘plastic’ success beaming in his ‘coconut shell’ face. “Seek and Find” is a well-rounded success story.
- K. Olojo-Kosoko’s “Ancient google”, “Co-existence” and “Tranquil feel” are good paintings from a mature painter. “Ancient google” is a realistic oil on canvas depiction with romantic blend of surrealism in the finishing of the painting. There are covered calabashes on the floor, gourds hanging from the very old wall, torn raffia mat spread out on same wall, long cloak, and the very old red clay wall with cracks and holes succeeded in creating a really ancient background. An Opon-Ifa (Ifa divination tray) placed on an animal skin mat is represented in the foreground. There is an Odu-revelation on the Opon-Ifa for a devotee or person who has come to consult the priest/diviner of Ifa to help provide answers to questions that he/she asked in order to solve his/her problem. From ancient times in Yoruba traditional religious believes, through Ifa divination, answers are provided to questions raised, and problems were solved. In the present contemporary age of science and the internet in particular, the cyber world provides many search machines/sites such as google (leading the pack), yahoo, opera, Wikipedia, answers.com, mama.com, and Mozilla Firefox among others with the goal of providing answers, used to solve problems through computerized format. Unlike the ancient traditional Yoruba/African traditional format of using African science, magic/spiritual approach coupled with subterfuge logic and psychology to answer and solve people’s problems. The new-age, twenty-first century computerized internet search machines with google in the forefront is faster, direct, devoid of religious hocus-pocus by priests who usually drag in the rites and rituals. Hence, the Ifa divination of old and other such traditional divinations are indirectly referred to as “Ancient google” by Olojo-Kosoko.
As a proven landscape painter, Olojo-Kosoko’s oil on canvas work, “Co-existence”, is a romantic landscape of a major street in mostly red colours with minor shades of brown, umber and gray. It is a big but not so busy street scene, yet the message is clear enough. In “Co-existence”, he smartly represents a big mosque directly opposite an equally big church. Thus, it is a visual discourse on the two main religions in our lives and nation, Christianity and Islam. Olojo-Kosoko is probably using “Co-existence” to tell Nigerians and other people that love and peaceful co-existence is what we need. Hence, people must realize that the ‘so-called’ religious terrorists bombing and killing innocent, harmless and defenseless people are demented Satanist.
“Tranquil feel” is a beautiful realistic/romantic pastel on paper landscape painting. It is a depiction of a peaceful nearly empty road, except for a car on one side of the tarred road and few people going about their daily activities in a tranquil hinterland. The scene is desirable because it is definitely the opposite of the bustling and hyper-busy mega-city scenario.
“The site of destiny”, “Anonymous” and “Sweden Experience” are three typical Alade-gbongbe Aderinsoye’s abstract cum expressionistic paintings. “The site of destiny” is an abstract mixed media work with a visible big round head in the top area of the painting. Alade-gbongbe is probably trying to employ the symbolic significance of the human head as the site of destiny in Yoruba traditional believe to nail home his message. “Anonymous” is an acrylic on canvas expressionistic painting in which the artist used a subjective landscape to metaphorically discuss human’s ‘egoistic’ and innate selfish nature. “Sweden Experience” is an acrylic on canvas abstract painting with mostly brown and umber colours in the foreground on a sappy greenish background. Alade-gbongbe thematically used the work to document and express his peculiar sense of joy, fulfilment and achievement of a dream come true visit to Sweden.
Jimoh Luqman’s “Aftermath” and “Undying spirit” are two landscape paintings. “Aftermath” is a mixed media of acrylic and charcoal on paper work, while “Undying spirit” is an oil on canvas painting. The two paintings are straight forward street scenes. Luqman’s preference of the blue colour was made very clear in the works, they are both founded on a pallet of blues with yellow and few other colours coming in sparingly. Contextually, the deserted street in “Aftermath” with only yellow commercial buses, cars, and buildings was meant to symbolize the sadness in the land because of the economic hardship. Thus, the people have gone underground in order to survive. “Undying spirit” comes with the message of survival at all course whether in the rain as seen in the painting, or during sunny dry period. Whether the economy is bad or not, the people must move on with their lives.
“The Traveler” is Dayo Adeyemi’s acrylic on canvas painting. It is a realistic rendering of a white camel with a mounted rider dominating the foreground of the work. The camel rider is dressed in blue with a whitish gray turban covering his face. He is definitely a desert dweller which befits his dressing, and it is also the natural habitat of camels. Decorative motifs were expressed in the background to further add an African essence to the work. It would be really nice of Adeyemi if he humour us at the opening of Soulfulness with new recent works because “The Traveler” is not new.
Isaac Joseph’s “Revival”, “Dialogue” and “Wise men” are three mixed media abstract paintings. “Revival” is a blue, brown, yellow ochre, and red coloured painting with suggested male forms sparingly dressed in traditional festive mode. “Dialogue” is an expressed dialogue scene for four. “Wise men” has three suggested adult male forms with long thick sticks in their hand, showing that they are three wise old men. Joseph subjectively expressed himself nicely in all three paintings.
The Visual Explorators have come to stay. But only time will tell who will survive the marathon race of creative twist and turn in the ever-hostile Nigerian art-scape to visual artists. Whenever the Nigerian economy or socio-political structure tremble and wobble with societal maladies and other associated corrupt tendencies, it is the visual artists that usually get the first sledge hammer punch before other parts of society even feel the pinch.
Group exhibitions are always welcome to both young and old artists because it keeps the art community busy and excited based on the potpourri of new and not so new works. Shows such as Soulfulness open up many opportunities for the artists to grow professionally and otherwise. Collection of works of art is an emotional and economic investments. Let us pray and hope that Soulfulness reduce the burden of present socio-economic and other personal challenges of these artists.
