This Lagos…A Canvas,an artistic look of a city

[MrVan]

BY JAPHET ALAKAM

FOR one week, apart from the normal visitors that visit the Nike Art Gallery, Lekki, Lagos, the gallery will welcome more visitors as art lovers, patrons, collectors and other enthusiasts will converge at the place for another independence exhibition by one of Nigeria's most exhibited artist, Oyirinde Olotu.

The exhibition which is coming on the heels of the success of his last solo show at the same venue or what has come to be known as his annual ritual is tagged  This Lagos.... A Canvas, an exhibition of paintings and drawings.

As was the case in his last exhibition where he dug into the history of Nigeria and painted great figures of accomplished individuals from the diverse worlds of politics, religion and the arts, in this exhibition,  the Yaba trained painter who can be described as a historian through his body of works brings to the fore a documentary of the events that has shaped Lagos from the colonial era till present. It is scheduled to open on the 1st of October and run to 8th October.

The Makoko series, one of the works to be exhibited Featuring about 50 recent works of the painter and some old ones that fused into the theme of the exhibition, the artists who is of the view that there is need to document events for posterity through the body of works tell stories of some of the events that shaped Lagos  that is fading out now due the  transformations that has been going on in Lagos especially since the coming in of the new governor of Lagos, Raji Fashola.

Using a limited palette and toned down colours that made the works to be mostly in black and white or what can be described as half colours, Olotu with brown colours draws and sketches, with pastel on paper some of those things that caught his fancy. On the colours, the artists says it is his own identity, a style he adopted so that people will easily identify his works whenever they come across it.

Taking the viewers round the works which are relatively large compared to his normal size, the artist explained that most of the works centered on things within his immediate environment. He said that he is not just focused on any theme but basically he paints about things that caught his attention.

" Any activity I am interested in I paint, it is not just landscape but other events that captures my fancy." He added. Some of the works include, a new Lagos, Isale Eko, Colonial residence, Swimming still, The Makoko series and others.

A look at some of the works really attest to the painters ideal as a historian, it was indeed an excursion in the history of Lagos as Olotu with the splash of his brush paints some of the important events that shaped Lagos which are no longer in view now.

For example , the piece The Premiers convoy, which depicts the scene where Chief Awo as the then premier of the west was moving with his convoy with smiles and people were waving their hands with smiles too unlike what is obtainable now with the corrupt leaders.

The Makoko series, paintings of the old Makoko, a slum suburb of Lagos and the activities that went on there before the big hammer of Fashola fell on them. Though recent but if you go to the place now, you will not see it again but through the eyes of Olotu, many will still have a look of the place.

Another piece, a colonial building in Ajele , constructed by the colonial masters with its good structures unlike what is obtainable now. There is also the Fashola's inauguration for the second term, the Old Oshodi at night before Fashola and others.

In his artistic statement, Olotu says, "I take special interest in history,which has influenced me in documentary art.  I get my references, I compose,recompose and juxtapose where necessary and then balance up my composition to get my final picture."

Vanguard Nigeria

[Folami David]

I personally love art too.
It is a lovely way of expressing oneself...
I always respect whoever engage in it

[KingFemzee]

The artist sure did a nice job...the scenery was really captured just the way it is.