A-ARTs: Texture, hue engagement case study in Atolagbe’s themes

'Infinite Becoming' (photography) by Babatunde Atolagbe.

By Tajudeen Sowole

FOR whatever reason, it’s taken for granted that every piece of art should speak for the subject to generate strong appreciation of the artist’s efforts. That expectation, sometimes, becomes either a challenge, hurdle, or strength for the artist as two of the works of photographer, Babatunde Atolagbe expose the complexity of handling age-specific subjects.

Atolagbe comes into the visual culture profession with an advantage of press photography background. Perhaps, to an extent, his depth of photography knowledge comes as an asset. This much of advantage reflects in quite a number of his works such as Golden Pulse, Gilded Transit, and Earth Remembers, among others.

Also, in creative photography with specific to age group such as children, Atolagbe leaves so much to engage viewers just as he gives critics wide space to challenge some of his contents. One of such critical engagement comes in Infinite Becoming, portrait of a young girl under five years old, almost stripped of the age of the subject, and captured in woman texture.

Elsewhere, another piece of the same photographer offers an idea of what’s missing in Infinite Becoming as the piece titled Beneath the Radiance celebrates what it takes to depict loudness and flamboyance. From critical perspective, the two works of different age-specifics themes create so much space to expand how colours relate to themes in visual culture.

Thematically, Infinite Becoming focuses on every child’s survival in a world that’s increasingly becoming unpredictable for the fragility of children. Atolabe’s thoughts on the theme suggest of ethereal forms emerging from the mind that symbolises imagination, memory, identity and possibility unfolding, endlessly. The portrait is meant to explore infinity as the limitless potential carried within every human life, as against endless space. However, Atolagbe’s choice of colour and tones for the portrait escalates debate over the spot of primary, perhaps ‘nursery’ colours in treating children-related imageries of creative contents.

Over the ages, between modern and contemporary periods, human assimilation of imageries has, subconsciously, accepted certain colours in visual culture for children. For Infinite Becoming, the visual elements, in colours, linked with children subjects are conspicuously missing, rendering the portrait a distant from the age bracket of the theme. Atolagbe’s Infinite Becoming exudes portrait of elitist shades and light, captured in conservative colours of mostly brown hues, as against primary and nursery tones that connect with young ones. While the theme of the portrait speaks more to general audience, the colour characteristics that represent young ones, specifically in nursery tones, are missing.

When treating a subject of age-specific like child-related theme, should artists lean towards primary or nursey colours? Perhaps the ideal escape window through such colour choice challenge is a balance of hues that converge the theme and aesthetics. For Atolagbe, perhaps, the escape route from those primary colours lies in the claimed ethereal factor of the subject. It could be argued that being ethereal in theme does not necessarily need to conform with colours associated with children.

In another piece, the analogy from the spiritual phrase of ‘The robe doesn’t make a monk’ comes to mind as Atolagbe exposes some unpleasant factors often hidden behind gorgeously dressed people. The work, a portrait titled Beneath the Radiance, shown recently in a group exhibition ‘Art as A Response to Mental Health’, at Chinwe Russell Art Gallery, Doncaster, U.K, comes as contrast with Infinite Becoming within critical context. Loud in yellow and its hues, Beneath the Radiance derives its strength from the primary colour of yellow, while Infinite Becoming does the opposite.

As the two works do not share one space or any other commonality apart from coming from the same artist, they offer critical comparison when it comes to colour application for theme-specific subject. For Infinite Becoming, it could do with the yellow and its hues of Beneath the Radiance, to provide an ideal texture that escalates the age-specific theme of the portrait.

Conversations about colours and themes of visual arts subjects are as vast as the relativity involved. Perhaps for academic and critical engagements, the conversation can be expanded beyond this critique of Atolagbe’s two works.

Line, light through digital brushings-of Oseh