Exhibitions
Lagos, March 14, 2014 A
sculptor, Kehinde Adewuyi, on Friday urged Nigerians not to lose hope, despite
the challenges of life.
Adewuyi said in Lagos that the human existence is full of ups and down but man
must take courage to make life better.
He made this known at a media
briefing to open his exhibition opens at Temple Muse, Victoria Island on March
24 to April 30.
The exhibition of
16 sculptures and 24 paintings are to be presented by Adewuyi and Uwatse, two
Nigerian-France based artistes who speaks about human existence through their
art works.
The artists who titled their works ``Affinity”
have a deep commitment to drawing attention to the struggles and questions of
human existence in the course of their works.
Adewuyi said that ``It has not been
easy for people, life is tough out there but one must have hope, to succeed and
survive.
``Cost of living is rising every day
and people are becoming aggressive more than necessary.
``We live in fear and we do not love
our neighbours as ourselves any more, these are the things I reflect on my
works,” he said.
The sculptor explained that he employ methods of exaggeration and
elongation of the human figure to best portray and express my inner feelings
about the subjects that he often see in his environment.
Adewuyi, who
studied arts at the Ahmadu Bello University and uses the lost wax technique,
which dates back to the 9th century Igbo Ukwu tradition, to do his
works.
He creates unique bronze sculptures
which portray universal themes such as struggle, affection, and poverty.
His human elongated forms, with
exaggerated feet and torsos either curled into themselves, or drawn out and
extended beyond normal proportion, express a gravitas of the human spirit.
In a related development, Chinwe
Uwatse, co-exhibitor, said that motherhood is being experienced by all and
sundry, it is an interesting thing to behold and it touches everyone.
``As mothers we have a touch in
every aspect of human life, so we have to celebrate it with happiness.
``It involves getting pregnant and
bring out a human life like us and nurture them to adulthood and still advice
where necessary,” she said.
She focuses on the female ethos,
while studying at the University of Nigeria Nssuka, she used `Uli”, which is
Igbo cultural tradition liquid form to express her works.
Uli is also used as a decoration on
the walls and tattoos on women, and expresses symbols, which informs her arts
on traditional architecture; and the joys of universal womanhood.
The curator, Sandra Mbanefo, said
``Uwatse’s intricate painting works and Adewuyi’s bold and massive sculptures
equally express a deep affinity to the worlds’ suffering masses”.
``Their works complement each other,
and show a unique African world view that is traditional and also very
contemporary, realistic and also hopeful.”
The Temple Muse, Artistic Director,
Avi Wadhwani, said ``we are delighted that Adewuyi and Uwatse’s amazing works
are kicking off our artistic season this year.”
Both artists were
born at the beginning of Nigeria’s independence 1959 and 1960 respectively.
They have over 20 years of artistic practice,
drawn from rich cultural traditions that make their inspiration rooted in
African history and identity.
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