By Damiete Braide

Prof Bruce Onabrakpeya has admonished young artistes to come together as a group to hold exhibitions, as it helps them to grow together faster. 

He spoke at the just concluded group exhibition themed “All Guts”, featuring new works of Orowole Oluwole, Mosun Mewase, Peter Adelaja, Sotonye Jumbo, Gbenga Adeku, Ajibo Ikechukwu, Gbenga Olawole and Julius Ugochukwu at Kokopelli Gallery, 3 Bunmi-Olowude St, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos.

Citing an example of the Zaria Rebels, Prof Onabrakepaya said they were a group of seven artists who sprung up in the late 1950s, and “when the name of one artist is mentioned, the names of the other members are also mentioned.” 

Admonishing the artists, he noted, “If you keep working together, you will find that you will be elevating one another, and, with time, you will become a household in the industry.

He was proud the artists were part of  the Harmattan Workshop, hoping that more groups would spring up. “Keep it up, don’t let it end this way. Have other exhibitions, other themes to talk about, and you will grow to become very important,” he added. 

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Chief Wanda Ibru told the gathering that it was interesting to see young artists participate at the Harmattan Workshop organised by Bruce Onabrakpeya Foundation (BOF) during the last summer.

It was amazing to see the synergy that the artists displayed, he said, explaining they met in August and “here, they are together to hold this group exhibition.” Despite the short period of time, he said it was amazing that the artists, with different styles, came together to find a common theme.” 

Reacting to the theme, he said, with these young artists, “I find their guts in their stomach”, and “they have given everything that is coming from their guts such as their sincerity, truthfulness, and it is a great title for the exhibition.” 

Besides, “They have made some political statements on the social side through their arts, and it is very meaningful. I love the way that the artists are using different types of media to express their works. Some of them have used recycled products. They have taken waste, recycled and upscaled it to give it a different feeling and meaning, and they have made it beautiful.” He also commended Prof Onabrakpeya for bringing many groups of people together for more than 23 years. 

The curator of the exhibition, Sabo Kpade, described the exhibition as a meditation on ideas around figuration and abstraction, rendered in distinct modalities of art making. The varied works range from paintings to metal foil relief printing, from sculptural work and collage to assemblage art.