By Tajudeen Sowole
IN highlighting art's potency
as a pivotal importance of human development, Duke Asidere excavates basics of painting
and drawing, perhaps, more extensively, than he has not done in a single
exhibition. He also uses the opportunity of his expansive expression to, again,
spotlight a decayed socio-political terrain of Nigeria.
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Duke Asidere |
Coming about two months after his solo, Mood
Colour Harmony, shown in Paris, France, Mental Space stresses how
Asidere, in recent times has been exposing certain level of prolificity. And to
keep releasing some of his ebullient themes, a wider window comes in Mental
Space, as the exhibits are divided into series. Such series include Faces, portraits
in diversity of expressions; Signature Forms, set of paintings, mostly
from his seated figure themes; Sketches, drawings on papers of mostly
ladies figures, that stress the artist's spontaneity character; and Power,
his visual narratives of Nigeria's erratic electricity supply.
Two
headless figures matted on brownish newsprint, with a full figure in the
background titled Preservation describes the artist's preference for
traditional way of reading newspapers, even in the growing age of digital
medium. And whenever he chose digital or
electronics generally, "distortions" he notes always took over the
airwaves. Representing his thoughts on how radio, TV and social media airwaves
have damaged people's sense of value and facts is a lone figure, Distortion
Facts and Historical Lies. For examples, common expressions such as
'Muslim north', 'Lagos press', in Asidere's views are "distortions"
that distract Nigerians from the real issues of under development. "These
are not the real issues," he tells select guests during preview.
Still on distortion, his immediate
environment, Lagos, currently, he argues, has not added to the sanity that
existed in the state few years ago. But
Lagos, under the current administration 'is working' at least from media
perspective. "Lagos is back to the days of risk," Asidere insists.
"Okadas are back everywhere in the state from IDPs in the north, and
traffic lawlessness on the increase, particularly in breaking of lights."
Another
piece, Living In the Past extends the issue of distortion by exposing
how previous prejudices of story tellers had damaged young generations'
perception of people that are not of the same faiths or ethnic groups.
An
advocate of relevant art, Asidere maintains his position that "it's not
enough for us to sell art, but we must use art to engage issues." As much
as people's right diversity of political views cannot be denied in a complex
setting such as Nigeria's, the posture of some individuals - artists inclusive
- appear to have sympathy for those who want Nigeria to remain chained in the
past.
"Worrisome," he agrees. "These artists have the right to
their views. But sometimes, I ask them: why do you think like this in 21 st
century?" He argues that a collective efforts is needed to ensure peaceful
environment for progress, warning that "we must deal with criminals, and
not throw money at militants."
Based
in Egbeda, a suburb of metropolitan Lagos, Asidere keeps dragging his
neighborhood, particularly Orelope Street, into his art. Several outdoor
workshops organised by his Play Spot Studio in recent years had engaged the
neighbourhood. For Mental Space, the attraction are women traders who
operate shops along the street.
Having tracked the consistency of the women
over the decades, Asidere brings Orelope into his current exhibition to
spotlight how women are supporting families' earnings across Nigeria.
Curated by Sandra Mbanefo Obiago, sponsored
by the Wheatbaker and Louis Guntrum Wines, Mental Space, according to
the curator "explores the human form through detailed drawings which touch
on universal themes of love and greed, war and peace, trade and silent
meditation, play and serious discourse."
Obiago notes that Asidere's drawings
"challenge us to reflect on a constantly changing political context, in
which he highlights the crazy and controversial excesses in our lives with
bold, often humorous poignancy.”
Between
Asidere, Obiago and Wheatbaker, there is a camaraderie that works. Asidere's work
was among the first set of pieces that opened what has become a new face in
hospitality when the hotel started business in 2011.
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