By Tajudeen Sowole
From a workshop held in Lagos
nearly a year ago, courtesy of Italy-based not-for-profit organisation,
Fondazione Benetton, comes Nigeria/Roots: Contemporary Artists from Nigeria,
a publication that features works of over 200 artists. The project is an
extension of the organisation’s global collection of specific size art in 2D,
on 10x12cm format.
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| Cover of the book |
As much as the 'contemporary' specification
or focus of the book could be taken for granted, there are indications that
definition of ‘contemporary art' within the confinement of subsisting period
may no longer sustain the ebullience of the creative space, in most parts of
the world. Never has articulation of content been so complex in the vocabulary
of art history as the word 'contemporary,' particularly in the African art
space. Between ancient and modern art, there is no ambiguity; the difference is
as glaring as contrasting colours. But between modern and contemporary,
sometimes, the latter is applied loosely, particularly in recent documentation
via books and articles in journals/newspapers as well as art exhibitions.
And as
appropriating art in contemporary expression appears to be the blue-eye-boy in
African art lexicon in the past few decades, the trend keeps rising, which
perhaps also influenced Nigeria/Roots:
Contemporary Artists from Nigeria. Published by Imago Ipunw, it's a 468-page
bi-lingua (English/Italian), with a list of artists and works featured in a
confined application of contemporary term.
The introductory pages by Head of Department,
Graphics Design, Institute of Management and Technology, Enugu, Nigeria, Mr. Ayo
Adewunmi; Moataz El Safty, founding director of EAN Group for International
Artistic Cooperation, Egypt; and an Italian writer, Oriano Mabellini appear to
have confined the book's contextualising of contemporaneity within the period
of practice of the featured artists. Indeed, contemporary art, it has been
argued elsewhere, should be more about the content being expressed in
non-traditional forms, and not just the creator's focus on contents that
represent the period of practice.
Clearly, the period of practice or creation of
work wins the contemporaneity context of Nigeria/Roots:
Contemporary Artists from Nigeria. Adewunmi, for example, in his
contribution titled Contemporary Art in
Nigerian Art, traces the emergence of contemporary art to the country's
modernity. He tracks the trajectory of
Nigerian art from the modern period of Ana Onabolu (1882 -1963) through the
Zarianists and other movements such as ulism
and onaism, to conclude that the
ideologies and philosophies of the modernists and post-modernists, which spurred
many branches, gave rise to contemporary Nigerian art.
"Modern Nigerian art thrives and
blossoms on actions and inactions, which are usually prompted by activism that
has birthed stylistic studio ideologies and philosophies, which has now
developed into branches upon which the contemporary artist perches."
In a
contemporary Nigerian art space based on period of artists' practice, the
post-modernists are crucial, so stresses Adewunmi. "Many art associations
and cooperatives were founded in the late 1980s and 1990s as artists sought
ways to propagate and promote their profession.” He listed such groups seeking
identity as in the emerging post-modern era as “The Eye Society, comprising
staff and artists graduates of the Zaria Art School, notably, Gani Odutokun,
Jerry Buhari, Jari Jacob, Tonie Okpe and Mathew Ehizele. The Nogh-Nogh Group, also
based in Zaria with Muazu Muhammed Sani, Kefas Danjuma, Duniya Gambo and Ken
Okoli; The Pan African Circle of Artists (PACA), founded in 1991 by a group of
students and staff of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, led by Krydz Ikwumesi,
Kandibe Eya, Emeka Egwuibe and Cajetan Nwokedi, which had its leadership joined
by Tochukwu Amano, Adewunmi, Helen Uhunmagho, Ugochukwu Smooth Nzewi, Kent
Onah, and others.” Similarly, in the nation’s art hub, Lagos, quite a number of
activities, Adewunmi notes, were unfolding.
“By the early 2000s in Lagos, the Culture and
Creative Art Forum (CCAF) was founded by Kunle Filani, Ademola Azeez, Ademuleya
Sehinde, Akin Onipede, Mike Omoige and Austin Emifonye.”
The
post-modernists groups, he argues, “provided platforms for exhibitions,
workshops, symposia and numerous artistic events, thereby arousing critical
dialogues and art criticisms."
Held at the Department of Creative Art, University
of Lagos and Alliance Francaise, Enugu, the workshop, which produced the book, Contemporary
Artists from Nigeria was coordinated by El Safty and Coordinator, Art Is Everywhere Project, Nigeria.
Adewunmi. Ahead of the event, part of requirements for participants included
practise "for a number of years" and showing "in not less than
three verifiable professional exhibitions."
The coordinators disclosed that the workshop
was originated from a five years-old passion of Mr. Luciano Benetton, the
President of the Benetton Foundation who has started a collection of Artists
Post Cards. Among his collections are
artists of South-American origin. The collection, according to the organisers
of the workshop would further inspire Benetton Foundation, to create a large pool
of “small artworks with the intention of connecting the different
Art-Expressions from different Countries of the World."
Featured in the Nigerian publication version
of the Benetton Foundation are over two hundred artists, which include a mix of
modernism and contemporary renditions. In fact, the works produced in
traditional form with modernism characters appear more dominance. However, with
artist, Kelani Abass opening the Artworks
and Artists' section of the book, a flavour of contemporaneity is
immediately perceived in his mixed media titled Akoni.
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| Nigerian coordinator of the project, Ayo Adewunmi |
Some of the artists featured in the book
include Akinleye Ademola, Christopher Atuba, Olusegun Jide-Ajiboye, Ben O Aku,
Nwala Chibuenyi, Lilian Chizoba Pilaku, Chris Echeta and Krydz Ikwuemesi.
In a
contribution titled A View of Imago Mundi
Project in Nigeria 2014, El-Safty shares his Nigerian experience. He
describes the Nigerian art space as that which has its strength in the diverse
forms "distinguished from other African countries." El Safty recalls
collecting Nigerian pieces during art events in Egypt few years before the Lagos
workshop. Highlighting the gains of the workshop and the book, El Safty argues
that it will help to project featured artists to the global art space.
"The most important aspect of the project is that it will help introduce
Nigerian artists to the organisers of international art events."
Giving more details on the not-for-profit
texture of the foundation, the publishers state that "hundreds of Artists
have donated small artworks to the Benetton Foundation and now the collection
consists of about 2000 small pieces from: Australia, South Korea, Japan, India,
China, U.S, South America, Kenya, Senegal, Somalia, Morocco, Zimbabwe,
Mozambique and Egypt."
Specifically,
the Nigerian end of the tour workshop was aimed at giving “opportunity to a
minimum of 210 contemporary artists” from the country. The artists were asked
to create works using 10x12cm format. Later, the published works were scheduled
for exhibition in October last year, in Rome, Italy as part of the foundation's
African collection. More importantly, the non-commercial focus of the project
was stressed ahead of the publication. "The collection under the auspices
of the Fondazione Benetton has no commercial aspirations, but aims instead to
unite the diversities of our world in the name of a common artistic
experience."
Adewunmi studied
art at Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, Nigeria, where he obtained a BA in
Industrial Design, in 1991. He holds MFA in Painting from the University of
Nigeria, Nsukka. Adewunmi works with variety of mixed media, installations,
photography and video. In 2005, he initiated Art is Everywhere (AIE) workshop, a waste-to-art recycling project.
In 2007 the project became a mobile workshop with the aim of accessing more
artists and resource materials. Adewunmi is a founding director of AAW
international artists workshop 2012 for young artists.
Some of art activities of El Safty include
being a member of the jury of the 20th yearly youth salon, Cairo
(2009); organizer of Atelier of Alexandria at BJCEM biennale for young artist
from Europe and Mediterranean; co-founder of DWAYER’s international workshop
for women; and co-founder of AAW international workshop – with the curator Reem
Hassan; curator of second show of Salon Gallery, Atelier’ Halls, Cairo (2008);
curator of AAW international youth salon –from 2006 till 2010; and curator of
POINTS1 exhibition – Dwayer group for arts and dialogue of cultures.
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