By Tajudeen Sowole
In keeping pace with the dynamics of art outside the
academic environment, a group of art teachers who have been working under the
toga Danfo since 2005 were back to
the gallery, making attempt at a radical aspect of visual expression.
From the School of Art, Design and
Printing of Yaba College of Technology (Yabatec), Lagos, the artists Olu Amoda,
Raqib Abolore Bashorun, Mordi Emmanuel Kema, Sade Thompson and Odun Orimolade opened
their creative thoughts via one-week exhibition titled Our Resolve at Terra Kulture, Victoria Island, Lagos, which ends tomorrow.
They last had
a public appearance in 2006, and now returned with Our Resolve to represent what they described as “correspondents and consultants,
approaching the work process from a network and exchange of information.”
 |
| From Danfo art show, a ceramic work by Mordi Emmanuel Kema. |
Deriving its name from the common Lagos mini commercial bus
known as ‘danfo’ – a local name for
the small passenger bus – the artists liken the individual’s creative strength
to the independence of danfo bus conductor
who, according to Amoda, “decides for the driver the routes to go”. The artists
in the Danfo group, he said, are
therefore called ‘conductors’.
From Amoda’s assemblage pieces of cubic images of over 50,
which welcomes a guest at the entrance of the gallery, to Kema’s ceramic
objects of non-functional and aesthetic extravagance as well as futuristic
rendition of Bashorun’s sculptures joined by Thompson’s vibrancy of colour
application to express the diversity in designs and Orimolade’s mix of fantasy
and mystic themes, the Danfo conductors have added a new artistic expression
into the Nigerian art vocabulary. And quite interesting that despite the group
factor, the curatorial choice of the show left enough space for easy navigating
through the diverse themes under the conductors’ commonality to be radically
artistic. For example, one’s right of ways through some of the link entrances
into the rooms met a pleasant blockade from some sculptural works.
Indeed, of note in the group’sWhile elaborating on the
concept, Kema said, “It’s about escaping from the straightjacket structure of
formal art education. Like a bus conductor who is so free, we are not bound by
medium, genre or regimented rules; we are free to play around our creativity”.
From the group’s Artists’ Statement comes what they describe
as a concept of dynamism in multidisciplinary collaboration with other artists,
institutions and the corporate sectors. “Danfo
is an independent contemporary art project team participating in public art projects
such as curating, researching and critical writing with a focus on urban
development, mentoring, technology and cultural fusion and integration.”
More importantly, the Danfo
concept, they explain “lies in an interest in interdisciplinary working methods.
The strength of the team is in encouraging diversity inherent in the creative
individual.”
On mentoring, Kema disclosed that Danfo artists plan to carry students along “because there are
certain things the school curriculum does not accommodate.”
Wouldn’t extending the
scope to mentoring outside the academic structure bring up clash of interest
within the formal setting?
“Not at all,”
Bashorun stated, noting that closing the gap between formal art education and
mainstream practice is only complimentary and not derailing any academic
structure. This, he stressed, was the primary focus of the group.
However,
Bashorun faulted the academic curricula of most schools in Nigeria for being
‘static’, saying, “The world is moving, art is also not static, so the academic
environment should change.” Artists, he said, are more active and productive in
their private studios, but unable to transfer the same zeal into teaching in
schools because of the unfriendly academic environment. For example, he argued
that some artists’ studios are better equipped than art studios of some higher
institutions.
For the
designer Thompson, the Danfo project
“is a platform for tomorrow, which we all have something in common to share”.
On what the
group had been doing during their long absence from the art scene, Orimolade
said, “We have been meeting and exchanging ideas to prepare for stronger
outings, particularly on the mentoring aspect”.
While
stressing the importance of studio practice as the strength of the group, the
artists stated: “All
members are studio artists that have exhibited, published and consulted widely.
Freedom of expression and seamless class are the
driving force propelling relationships in the groups.”
The artists recalled that in the maiden
outing titled The Way We Are held
inside Yabatech and later at Terra Kulture, “the theme sends clear message that
everybody is born with peculiarity that is capable of blossoming.”
Under the Danfo mentoring program, they said students would be exposed to
different aspects of preparation towards a great fulltime studio practice and
also inclusive of artists outside the academic setting.
Amoda, a widely traveled sculptor, muralist, and designer, uses
repurposed materials and metal. He graduated in sculpture from Auchi
Polytechnic in 1983, and was awarded a Masters of Fine Arts from Georgia
Southern University, U.S.
Bashorun has taught art at
various levels at Yabatech, was a graduate instructor of records in the Fine
Art Department of the University of Missouri, Columbia Missouri, U.S. from 2000
to 2002 and a visiting Assistant Professor in the same university in 2003. He
runs regular workshops in his Villagecreativestudio, southwest of Lagos.
Kema commenced a B.Sc programme in Art Education (ceramics) on a
part time basis at the University of Nigeria Nsukka in 2005. In
2006, he proceeded to the University of Benin where he obtained a
Master’s degree in Fine Art, specializing in ceramics.
Thompson graduated from Yabatech and Ahmadu Bello University
(ABU) Zaria in Fashion Design and Textile Design respectively. A multi-talented
experimental artist working in both two and three-dimensional forms, her
futuristic fashion designs in 2005 titled ‘Contemporary Gear’ explored the
survival kit for women in highly volatile areas in the world. She draws from
her skills in painting, printmaking, fashion and textile design, jewelry design
and leatherwork.
Orimolade’s early foundation in artistic practice has been
of traditional art techniques, majoring in painting though she has since
transitioned into incorporating other media in varying explorative means into
her practice. She has particular interest on exploration of drawing mediums as
a large part of her work, which includes collage, etching, murals, sculptural
installation and other mixed media art.
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