Eluagu Nzubechukwu William, 30, is a 2013 graduate of Fine Art from the Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), Lagos. His name may not ring a bell among art enthusiasts and collectors but he does the unusual by experimenting with found objects, materials and forms. He speaks with MOJISOLA CLEMENT-Omobowale on his challenges while working on his final project: Your destiny is in your hands, an installation made from pet bottles in front of YABATECH School of Art and Designs.
Why did you change from sciences to study fine arts?
After my secondary education, I attended a church programme that was organised for the youth anchored by a female counselor. She lectured us about self-discovery and challenged every youth present to discover who they are when they get home. She asked us to lie down facing up and closed our eyes. And that we should look deep down into our soul. I went home to do that. But, I always knew I was an artist. When I borrowed my peers my notebook, they pass comments such as ‘your note is very neat, your diagrams look like an album.’
Teachers will call me to draw on the board. I was always drawing but most times they were not for publicity stunt. When I draw, it always looks like a photocopy. After the programme, I discovered that art was my line and I never wanted to do something I learnt but something that came to me naturally. So, I decided to be who I am. Initially, what I did was to contact my art teacher, Mrs Fasanmi. She was my fine arts teacher in my secondary school. The first day she saw me, she just loved me. I told her my intentions to be an artist and she was very happy. She gave me my first drawing materials such as brushes and paints and she wrote a recommendation to her colleagues on my behalf. She is an alumnus of YABATECH. They run a studio called the Universal Studio of Arts (USA) at the premises of National Theatre, Lagos. I went there as an apprentice between 2003 and 2006. Between that period, I enrolled for GCE where I did the arts subjects.
What kind of growing up did you have?
Growing up was very interesting. It was full of fun. You know a typical child that grew up in Ajegunle. I grew up in an average family. I lost my father when I was 6 years old. He was a businessman who was involved in importation while my mum is a trader. Many children in Ajegunle grew up with a lot of play and experiment. We will make kites and on Saturdays we go to the dustbins and pick things that we use to make toys. We always look out for Saturdays. And each season came with its own type of play or game.
Will you say your talent or skill is hereditary? I mean does it run in the family?
Yes. I think from my mother from what I observed personally. She has some of her biology notes she used while she was still in school. She is a perfectionist. Though she was married to my father at a tender age, she kept all her notes, her notes does not get torn. She actually told me that she misplaced most of her books when she came to my father’s house. She said they were all borrowing her notes and never returned it. I saw her diagrams and I feel it flowed from her so I believe it flowed from them.
I used pet bottle to create a sculptural work 10 feet six inches high then the base is like three feet. The title of the work is Your destiny is in your hands and it shows two sterilized hands holding a sphere and this sphere signifies ones destiny. It was supposed to be the world when I proposed the idea. The jury that examined the idea limited it to Your destiny is in your hands. Although I have already done the design so I couldn’t go back on it and I decided to continue with it. The sphere symbolizes one’s destiny while the hand symbolizes man and his action. Now from the composition of the art piece one would notice that the hand is composed in such a way that there is a wobbling, there is a struggle of these two hands, there is a struggle trying to control the ball which we all know as the way life is, it is struggle for us all to get to our destiny or our positive feet. It is always a struggle. Although it was done in 2013, it was mounted around January 2014 and pro to that time there were lots of challenges I had to face to do that work.
What kind of challenges?
The challenges include catering for my needs as a student and the first challenge was money followed by keeping to time. Note that my project that had not been done before. I didn’t have any particular blueprint or a place I will go to see the work where it has been done. The material is somehow new especially in this environment. There are only few places that the project has been done like Brazil and China. So, the other challenge I had was supervision. The first lecturer that was supposed to be my supervisor turned me down.
You said you were not a good student?
I was not a good student because at a point my supervisor and I were good paddies. But it turned sour because I couldn’t meet up with my assignment.
Why didn’t you meet up with your assignments?
I had some contracts I was doing and I had to meet up. I was lagging in my assignments. I was not able to submit my assignment promptly. I was not even paying much attention. But they knew I was a good student. In the class, we were four. I don’t want to praise myself but I was a promising student even my lecturers knew. My only problem was that I was not meeting up.
The second lecturer that took my supervision after much begging gave me a target and a particular time frame. Yet, I couldn’t meet up still because my clients were on my neck. In fact, during that period, I felt like running away from the school. But, to God be the Glory I was able to deliver the works to the client who threatened that he would use police to nab me. By that time, I had already received query from my Head of Department Mr. Aderinsoye Aladegbohungbe. So, I went to explain myself to him. Thank God he is a very understanding man. He admonished me.
My next supervisor abandoned my project because I couldn’t meet the target. I didn’t get another supervisor after that so I had to do it all myself. I mean all alone without any supervision.
What was the duration of the project?
Really, I wasn’t counting anymore. But it may be around 90 days or three to four months.
What were the pet bottles you used?
I used different brands of pet bottles because all I wanted was something dynamic, something different. If I had gone for just a brand, I would have been limited. Let me give you an example, if I had gone for a the brand Pepsi, maybe Teem, I would only have a particular type of green so if you look at the work closely, there is a green that is lighter. There is also a green like 7up. So I used Teem, 7up and the lighter one is the H20 which now gradually faded into the white, I mean the clear one, the Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Fanta and Lacasera.
How many bottles did you use in all?
Wow. I made an attempt to count them and I lost count so it will be over 2000 and between four to five thousand bottles.
So how did you source the pet bottles?
I contracted the sweepers which were also my friends in the school because everything was gotten in the school, the students consume a lot of soft drinks and all I had to do was because I couldn’t pick them all. Although I picked some by myself, they were more in the position to gather it easier than me. I was buying it 30 naira per dozen. They were very happy supplying me with those bottles. I just kept stacking them.
You stacked them before you embarked on the project?
Usually when we have a project, we usually have a day of proposal. You propose three ideas and from those ideas, you are permitted to choose one or they may choose for you if they notice that your ideas are not so good. But in my case, I proposed three ideas. Those ideas were unique and I was asked to choose any of it. I told them I will like to embark on this one. My mind was on the pet bottles.
Between 2008 and 2010, there was a research I was doing on plastics. And I have been thinking of how to get money and turn it into art work. That preempted my idea about plastics. I asked myself what can I do with them? Do I take them and melt them? I never knew it was going to be popular or people were going to be wowed by it. I just felt I wanted to do something different. I knew it was going to be difficult because I don’t have any blueprint or model to follow.
I knew what I wanted to do but I did not know the technical ways to go about it so it is just as if I had a dream but I did not know the road to follow. When I started it, pressures were mounting on the different techniques to adopt.
So aside from pet bottles, what other materials did you use?
Apart from that, I used lights bulb which I used in lighting them. So during the day you will see it with the bottles and at night it’s glowing.
I am still going to explain the reasons for all of them because they all have their symbolism. I also used metal. There are different types of metal, there are quarter rods, 8mm, 10mm, 16mm, 20mm which is as thick as three fingers joined together. So I had to look for a way of bending those rods and I bent them myself. I had to make do with whatever I was going to get. When some people and my lecturers saw me at that time, they were like why don’t you just cut them in pieces and weld them. I listened to them but I did not do what they asked me to do. By God’s Grace I was able to make it stronger.
Some of them he told me categorically that Williams what are you doing? You are not serious, what are you trying to do? While doing the work I had people that donated money to me voluntarily. Lecturer like Mr Rukeme Noserime helped me financially.
The work is signed 2013 because that was when it was actually done but mounted in 2014.
In what form do you want to come out with those ideas?
I will like to come out with installations. Installations are spiritual art that have been done for a limited period of time maybe three months. But you go back and dismantle it when time elapses. I also want to have exhibitions because people have given me the challenge. Some people want the piece or want something of this nature in their house. I have also been able to think about how I can modify it to fit into peoples’ home. I have been able to come up with the ideas because between that period and now I am quite good at using clay for sculpting figures and human beings. I have been using that to sustain myself. I have a registered business. The name of my company is the Co-Creators art and design company. There I do architectural finishing, build fountains, interiors, kitchen among others.
Did you receive any award or scholarship?
I have not gotten any scholarship or contract or any endorsement yet. Although there were some rumours that I must have a distinction. I refused to tell the students that I did not get an A because I was scared they could go on a rampage. I think it was a B or something like that.
If you get the opportunity to travel overseas would you go?
Actually I am thinking of that seriously as a way of going for further studies. I would so much appreciate it. Though I have never thought of going abroad to live but I have always seen myself as an international person. I see myself as a global person that is why the theme of the particular topic I chose is central.
Who motivates you?
Firstly my inspiration is from God not man because everything I do is from deep within me. I don’t do things that come from my heart. I usually have a hunch to do something before I embark on it. I also get inspired by Mr Segun Adejumo who taught me to draw and appreciate it and so many other prominent artists such as Mr Biodun Olakun and Mr Olubunmi that taught me to appreciate art and see it as a profession.
Any regrets?
The road to being an artist is not an easy one. It is something that if you don’t make up your mind on it, you cannot succeed. It is not easy either in this country or abroad. It has lots of sacrifices.
