Artist, Akeredolu, others partner govt to donate ‘L’Extinction’ artwork to Owo museum

IN a bid to use environment-themed art to raise awareness on tree planting and inspire action, the Ondo State government, through the Ministry of Environment, has partnered with artist, Charles Olulaja Akeredolu, to donate an artwork titled, ‘L’Extinction, to the National Museum, Owo, through the Palace of Olowo of Owo.

The Ondo State Goodwill Ambassador for Environment, Ms Olayemi Olapeju, the acting Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Mr Olumide Kinga; a former Commissioner for Environment, Dr Funso Esan and Akeredolu were on hand to donate the artwork to the museum through the Olowo, Oba Ajibade Gbadegesin Ogunoye III.

Speaking at the event, Ms Olapeju said the Ondo State Ministry of Environment capitalised on the Valentine’s day to impact positively on the environment and sensitise people on the importance of tree planting.

She said planting trees for the environment is essential to human sustenance, just as she encouraged members of the public to, in the spirit of Valentine, profess their love through tree planting and reduce the carbon emissions that are being accumulated on the planet.

She also explained that the environmental-friendly artwork, was produced by herself, Akeredolu and Mrs Bolajoko Taiwo Ayeni from thorns of tree that the late famed artist, Chief J.D. Akeredolu, invented for thorn carving in the 1930s.

“We planted trees before embarking on donating the artwork so as to demonstrate that we must plant trees to stop extinction of trees in our forest and to rewrite the history of Valentine gifts by motivating the public to plant trees as Valentine’s gift instead of giving out non-biodegradable gift items which have damaging environmental impacts,” Ms Olapeju said, adding that “It is disturbing that people fell trees without replacing them, which can consume humanity.”

She said the artwork was created to make people realise that they don’t have to fell a whole tree to do wood carving. “You can remove a thorn from a tree to do your arrwork.

“This artwork is called Priceless and it is rare because the tree thorn materials used have gone extinct.  The thorns grow from wild cotton trees, but we can’t find them again in the forest,” she said.

The acting Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Mr Olumide Kinga, called on the public to embrace efforts to save the planet by planting more trees.

A former Commissioner for Environment in the state, Dr Funso Esan, disclosed that the L’Extinction artwork is very expensive, just as he appreciated the artists for donating it to the museum.

Mr Akeredolu, son of the late artist, JD Akeredolu, thanked the museum for the proper conservation of his late father’s artworks, adding that the artwork was donated to the museum to further resuscitate his father’s invention of thorn carving.

“The art of thorn-carving that my father invented in the 1930s has the unique attribute for being the highest level of greenness in wood carving, as only the thorns are removed from the trees for carving, while the trees still stand to support the ecosystem.

“L’Extinction artwork is very rare as it took four years to gather the thorns used to produce 12 versions, so by displaying the history of the artwork in the museum, this will educate the public about saying no to illegal tree logging,”  he said.

The Olowo, Oba Ogunoye, in his speech, said the mission of preserving the environment should be the priority of everybody.

The traditional ruler commended Mr Akeredolu and the team, saying the artwork reveals the need to protect the environment.

Oba Ogunoye also promised that the olowo palace would continue within its capacity to do the needful in the preservation of the environment.

While receiving artwork, curator of the National Museum, Owo, Mr Ogbu Augustine, thanked the artists, saying it would be displayed for the public to view and for posterity.

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