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Monday 26 December 2022

Artistry metaphor of Orioye Bukola

'Listener' (oil on canvas, 40" X 40", dated 2020), by Bukola Orioye.

By Charles Okereke 

PERPETRATING nuances; the shifts in time frames, like pendulum traversing between the past, the present and futuristic postulations. 

The memories of an era flood past like quick time. Evoked in the period of revolutionary awakenings of the black consciousness, young emerging artists are beginning to find their voices, devouring the concepts of black-ism as awakening factor. With figures in varied forms and interpretations bothered seriously on the periphery of uniformity….. akin to trendiness…..

Yet in the admixture of expressive explosions of figures as metaphors bright stars sparkles intermittently, exposing their most sensitive questionings and inner agitations. 

One of such young emerging artist is Orioye Bukola; who discovered his artistic potentials in the studio of Mr Tope Fatumbi, Topfat Art Gallery, Adamasingba, Ibadan where he interned in 2019.

As the agitation is now highly ripe to sift the new black-ism consciousness in a contemporary corridors, to decipherable categories, personal languages begin to emerge in the black-ist narratives, as incisive questionings and postulations emanates from few sparks of talents.

Orioye Bukola mind’s quest has progressed to infused questionings and suppositions in his canvases beyond mere rhetorical esthetics; (as the trendy atmosphere now seems mostly to suggest).

His work speaks in metaphors which flow between the past, the present and the postulation of the future. He probes on relicts to unearth anchored reasoning which shares semblances with contemporary happenings.

His stylistic sense is inventive of punkish style piles of hair reminiscent of the 80s and discotheques, parted with sharp oblique angles which are reflections of the hard chiseled surfaces of the Yoruba effigies he introduces into his works, seasoned with a strong sense of fashion.

Orioye is concerned with African spirituality and how they interface with identity, memories, worships and total wellbeing of the people. This adaptation of the past to interface with the present and postulate a futuristic nuance is evident in his warm leathered clad supersonic subjects whose demeanor echoes the Star Trek, UFO, and intergalactic Adour of postmodern Hollywood cinematic periods.

This pendulum of interactions between the past, the present and the futuristic postulations, defines Orioye’s works and lent it a certain direction. The combinations creates inquisitiveness for explorations which permeate the borrowed eras, espousing  bygone traits of exhumed investigative nuances, memories, identities and spirituality of bygone cultural epochs.

It will be exhilarating to calmly observe the growth of Orioye Bukola’s sojourn in the interpretations of his curious and investigative narratively placed overtures.

Born 1993 in Osogbo, Orioye is a native of Ekiti State. A graduate of Chemistry from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Trained by Mr Tope Fatumbi of Topfat Art Gallery; Adamasingba, Ibadan 2019.

He is inspired from societal issues and life demands, beauty, culture and African Spirituality – with focus more of the female gender as a conduit to all else.

His philosophy is about simplicity and determinations without harm to none. -Charles Okereke (November 17, 2022).

1 comment:

  1. This is marvelous. Orioye Bukola is indeed a pestle that himself hasn't discovered how genius he is. Knowing his has been a blessing and I'm sure the inspiring spirit still lives in him. Congratulations 🎉 The Art Hub magic hand. More wins.

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