‘This pandemic is a blessing in disguise’

Edgar Imomoh of Auchi Art School is one of Nigeria’s promising young artists, an impressionist painter, known for his exceptional works.  In this interview with EDOZIE UDEZE, he talks about his works in isolation as they relate to Covid-19, the relationship with private art galleries and more

Many artists due to the covid 19 lockdown are strictly hooked to their studios producing mouthwatering works. What do we expect from you when this pandemic is over?

To begin with I would like to say the pandemic is a blessing in disguise in a sense that it sort of slowed us down for assessment and re-evaluations as humans living in a world where the grass is green and lots of beautiful cloud arrays.

For me it’s a time to take a walk breathe in fresh air (although we have to wear the mask like the masquerades we have all become), taste the air if the need arises and just realize how much human you still are in this crazy world.

I must say i have learned to take work at a slow pace observing the process critically and just enjoying the birthing process, it sort of make me look and make adjustments where it is deemed and not rushing to meet any dateline.

It’s for me more like a time to take the journey inwards and question everything I might have hurriedly believed to be normal.

When all this dust does blow over, I would say the resultant works from this era would reflect a kind of tranquil that the pandemic brought to us in spite of the many insane issues that truly did plague this times.

Ikorodu, Lagos seems to be attracting more contemporary artists these days. You are one of such .What flavours do the Ikorodu environment add to your artistic output?

Every creative I believe do need a quiet safe place to brood, and this i think is the lure. There is a certain interesting cultural mix that switches between urban and rural cultures and it transverses the entire Ikorodu landscape.

This interesting cultural mix is a great fascination and inspiration for the creative as it provides not only brooding spaces but also places to explore other intentions outside of the arts.

On the other hand, there’s a serenity the communities offer that is quite different from the hectic lifestyle of the Lagos milieu, just like this pandemic it’s a breather from the hustle and bustle that characterize the Lagos metropolis.

Exhibitions are not in place now. How do you put out your works for public appreciation and patronage?

Maybe we have all been made to prepare for this in a way since technology has always sought to make life easier.

I would say the introduction of social media sharing platforms like instagram, twitter and many others, the artist has at the comfort of the sofa been able to connect to a diverse audience around the world from personalized mobile devices.

These sharing platforms I fear are on the verge of making traditional galleries becoming storage facilities as the market moves online.

In a time like this when the world has tilted on its edge and what used to be normalcy quietly eroding us there is this huge uncertainty as to when this ill wind would blow over and what would become of the world we once had.

There certainly is an adjustment, you know humans and adaptability we are all slowly if not greatly embracing the new normal, which is embracing technology for solutions.

The future is virtual if I am to be honest. The dividends come in slowly for now, but I do believe that time would fix us all in places.

 

As a painter what issues shape or attract you more when you want to paint?

First I would like to say I am more of a conservative and I like to look at the human experience, the polarity of the human world we live in, how the human mind works is what I seek to understand and this probe leads me to certain hypocrisy, greed and the many propaganda campaigns we carry through our earth sojourn.

Humans are quick to find things that are moving into extinction without truly considering the fact that humanity has almost if not completely eroded us.

Propaganda campaigns carry through every strata of the society we live in. We have become more of performing artists on a stage than humans living in a world of unmowed lawns.

My works as a painter are structured around proxemics and I like to say that they are more like forensic materials to investigate the times I lived in.

My works lead me to examine spaces both within and without most especially within the context of the black mind and the greed that drives him to want to acquire and keep everything to himself at the expense of the collective that we are as humans.

Have you ever wondered why we have so many uninhabited spaces than homeless people in urban societies? This dichotomy is what fuels the desire to probe the human mind as I attempt to mingle and interact with society on an often basis.

What are those basic lessons Auchi school of art taught you that helped you to excel?

The Auchi School of Art provided a background for me in a way I would say but I never studied art there anyway. I was a fan and always a frequent visitor to the department even before gaining admission to the school of Environmental studies which had its building right next to the school of arts and design.

I would tell you I spent more time at the school of arts and design than the Engineering building that actually housed my department.

‘I knew more people and names there than my actual faculty and so what that experience did to me was to sort of prepare me mentally to perceive arts from an expressive view because I saw how much freedom the students had compared to my department where everyone carried on with some high level seriousness.

I did grow up in a house with a lot of discarded paintings, art books and materials nesting on my fathers shelf from an uncle who happened to be a painter too.

So all those information from both environments made me restive and thanks to mentors like Mr. Duke Asidere and my painting lecturers from the Ife school of Art who were quite liberal to allow me become experimental which culminated largely to the art I now practice (wouldn’t want to call it a style because I don’t believe in style but techniques because the former is a perimeter that restricts artistic creativity).

Let’s know in what ways the relationship between artists and gallery owners has impeded or enhanced artists fortunes?

The artist/gallery structure is one that I have tried to wrap my mind around through time, sometimes I want to look at definitions of what a gallery is since I already know for an artist (since I am one anyway).

What is naturally supposed to be a symbiotic relationship at some other time is a topsy-turvy for the entire structure.

I would like to consider that most galleries are just business houses, which actually doesn’t sound bad if you consider definitions.

But as an artist I feel there should be more between both parties, like everything is political most times like its a microcosmic of the macro society plagued with politics of propaganda.

These days you find open calls in galleries that end up selecting people they already know, I just feel the Nigerian galleries need to do more, maybe some more.

When next you do have a solo what can we expect, any deviation from your usual forms, medium and or style?

Currently I am on a year long residency at the Orange Residencies here in Lagos, and you know with the covid situation that is ravaging through the entire Earth, there are a number of prohibitions and we have to abide by the NCDC regulation of safety by shunning social gatherings, so the organizers are kind enough to let us work in the safety of our homes but I must tell you it puts a great toll on the mind as different distraction pop around you.

It’s been quite a beautiful time with all the supports and encouragements to keep the mind functional through zoom meetings where regular workshops are now held.

There’s a plan for an exhibition on the way but not knowing exactly when for now, the exhibition is based on a grant from the Sahara center bothering on the realities of the covid 19 pandemic, I have been looking at new forms and media of interpretations for this but I do tell you the outcome would be truly exciting. I look towards it myself.