Maturation
I have nothing but apologies for the long silence that this site has endured. It has been almost a year ago since my maiden blog appeared. It has been, indeed, a long pause. Yet, so much has happened that warranted a ceaseless barrage of comments and views. Now that I have stepped back into the faculty, with the attendant relief from the quotidian administrative chores that being a Chair demanded, I hope to devote greater attention to this medium.
Even as I wrote the first blog, I was busy preparing for the keynote address that I delivered at the second Yusuf Grillo Pavilion Exhibition series in April of 2010 at Ikorodu, Nigeria. In contemporary Nigerian art, Grillo needs no introduction. The event, which was hosted by the founder of this series, Chief Rasheed Gbadamosi, was aimed at honoring one of Grillo’s peers: Bruce Onobrakpeya, who has been described as Africa’s Master Printmaker. I will remove the prefix, Africa though. Onobrakpeya is a Master Printmaker of international repute. Where does one begin to evaluate or analyze the numerous contributions that this artist has made to world art? His most recent foray into a workshop series through the Harmattan Workshop that he founded in his hometown, Agbara-Otor, is an example. This year’s event, the 13th in the series, will focus on a variety of media practices, under the directorship of Sam Ovraiti, a consummate watercolorist.
Equally important is a personal project of mine. My solo exhibition in Lagos, Nigeria, comes up on April 30th. I am using my leave this spring to focus on preparing for this show. It is exciting to be able to go back fully into the studio. I realized that my paintings provide an outlet for pent-up emotions regarding the state of the Nigerian nation. Issues pertaining to environmental degradation, as in the case of the Niger Delta, and corruption, simply continue to dodge my work. Much as I tried not to be consumed by what appears to be largely uncomplimentary thoughts about Nigeria, I have found it difficult not to share the trauma that comes from avoidable mismanagement by the political class in Nigeria, self-aggrandizement and unpardonable insensitivity to the plight of the marginalized seems to trump reason. My paintings are, to a large extent, an excoriation of a systemic plundering of a nation that is blessed with so much and yet has been laid waste by a handful group of individuals.
Given what is happening in the Arab world at this point, it does appear that something has to give with respect to Nigeria. Perhaps the coming elections might nip the issue in the bud. Or it might exacerbate it. The choice is the politicians’.
