Maintaining cultural identity and connecting with African roots remain on the top priority list for black artists in the diaspora. This is no exception for Nigerian-born artist, Suraj Adekola who recently earned an MA degree in Contemporary Fine Arts from the University of Salford, United Kingdom.
In his new body of works, ‘We Should All Be Blacks’, Suraj focus on ways of sustaining his African identity in a Western environment. For the versatile artiste, being black in a white-dominated environment should serve as an opportunity for the creative mind to promote humanity, equality, and the uniqueness of the African culture, rather than succumbing to the erroneous thought that one culture is superior to the other.
Suraj, who has defiled his humble beginning in Nigeria to pursue his dream of becoming an artist of reckoning, latest works have no doubt positioned him as a growing force to be reckoned with in the arts. In ‘We Should All Be Blacks’, one could see an artist who is at peace with his identity as an African and is not ashamed of proving it.
One thing that strikes one at the first sight of his new work is the use of multi-colored indigo tie/dye fabric in the cubist form to create and recreate varied forms to create the multiplicity of humanity in the abstract. The second is his use of tick bleach which is an unconventional medium for painting.
Suraj has creatively repurposed thick bleach as a medium for drawing that suggests Black representation. His use of materials like oil bars, and the blackened of his painting’s surface are breathtaking. He transforms traditional and contemporary materials into a painting’s surface and installation that are visually stunning. Using a blackened surface for his work, he celebrates true Africanism and the legacy of Blacks – past, present, and future.
Unlike one who some few years ago was in search of ways to find a voice for his works, Suraj seems to have found his comfort zone in the use of Adire (tie-dye) fabric, a clothing material that is common with the Egba people of South West Nigeria. By using the same to reproduce the surface for his paintings instead of the conventional canvas, Suraj has tried to sustain his African identity in a multicultural environment. Like a patriotic Nigerian burning with the zeal to sell his cultural identity to his global audience, the artist uses the popular Adire fabric to reflect and promote his ethnic heritage and identity.
On a close examination of his drawings, one can see a deliberate effort by the artist to highlight the prominent roles being played by black people in the growth and development of Britain – popular sportsmen and women, great footballers, and athletes who have continued to win laurels for the collective glory of all British citizens.
We see some mixtures of military camouflages in his drawings to depict the great sacrifices made by the people of color during world war 1 and 2 when they laid down their lives by agreeing to serve in the military on behalf of the British government and also in many other countries of the world. The materiality of his work calls attention to the fact that the contribution of black people to the development and growth of the British Empire cannot be over-emphasized.
With his latest works, Suraj has no doubt helped to put teeth to the reality that though our skins and tongues may differ, at the end of the day, we are all humans, sharing a common bond of tenancy here on earth. The faceless forms of the human shadows in the paintings seem like a deliberate method by the artist to depict the fact that all humans truly share similar ancestry. Though we claim ownership of separate geographical spaces or reside in different locations across the globe, fueled by our separate beliefs, one undiluted fact remains that we have the same color of blood flowing through our veins, hence we are one.
Suraj has no doubt come of age. He has succeeded in making a strong statement that Blacks in the diaspora should be proud of themselves, their abilities and their potentials. They remain a strong force, and indeed, leading forces in all facets of human endeavour and must always be ready to showcase the greatness within, no matter where they find themselves, and be good ambassadors of their countries.