This amazing talent spoke with LAOLU HAROLDS on her art.
What can you tell us about your background and how it has affected/influenced your life and choices?
I am the first child in a family of five kids. As the first child, my decision to study art was not judged nor put under undue scrutiny since I didn’t have any elder sibling whose level of success or failure in an unpopular field may be used as a yardstick in estimating if I’d find greenland during my sojourn in the art industry. In addition, I was priviledged to have a father who is a teacher and understands the importance of chasing dreams endlessly despite the odds. I had my primary education at Oyemekun Staff School Akure, and secondary at St. Louis Grammar School, Akure, after which I attended the prestigious Obafemi Awolowo University.
How did your fascination with art begin and what kind of training did you have for it?
My interest in art started as a kid, i just knew I loved creating things; it gave me joy that neither pen nor tongue could describe with precision. I remember coming for excursion to OAU as a secondary school student. I was amazed at the things I saw. It was like a breeding ground for people like me. Something pulled a switch in me that moment and I am yet to recover from that ecstatic, explosive feeling. It’s exciting to create things. It’s not a feeling that can be described with very precise details.
I was trained as a graphic artist in school. It opened my mind to developing things such as posters, fliers, handbills, billboards and so on. But on a larger scale, it enhanced my ability to brood on things and coordinate properly with my brain and hands at work simultaneously. I had interest in textiles too. I started a clothing (Estelle Designs) company with a partner while we were students.The company still exists. It now has a staff strength of five.
Your art is refreshingly unique and somehow unconventional. How do you describe it, and what was responsible for this choice of genre of art?
My interest in textile and fashion birthed the medium I use for executing my works, coupled with the fact that I had to wait for two years after graduation before my name came out on the NYSC list.
In the meantime I experimented with silk thread. I had seen it done by a senior colleague, Lasisi Lateef; and I wanted to try it out. In a few months, I got tired of the colour limitation I experience with the silk thread. I discovered knitting yarn has a variety of colours suitable for skin tones. I gave it a try and I enjoyed it. it was like cooking a familiar delicacy with foreign ingredients. Very interesting.
How long have you been doing this?
I have been doing this since 2013.
How do you choose your objects or the personalities you ‘paint’?
I get to choose the subject matter in my work based on the message I would like to pass or whatever seems to interest me at the moment. I like to document and tell tales of everyday events. I like to document people who are seemingly anonymous. When I see someone or something that interests me, it’s like I have restless, adamant, baby kicking in me, and until I let it out, I feel disturbed.
Did you at any point along the way ever consider financial success or fame as a motivating factor, and would you say your choice has paid off?
If it was for financial success or fame, I wouldn’t have taken this route at all. It didn’t seem rosy from the beginning, but I wanted to do it all the same. It didn’t matter if I got to the top of the mountain to find dust, and thorns and barren ground. It was worth the risk. Like Robert frost wrote in his popular poem ‘The road not taken’,
“…I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”
Have there been pressures (no matter how subtle) from your parents to do something else other than art?
Not at all; my parents have always supported my decision to be an artist. It has been a huge morale boost to me.
What measure of fame and success has your talent brought your way so far?
I’ve enjoyed fame and success from my works, especially on social media, Twitter especially. The response has been massive. I’ve received mails and messages from people in Canada, Malaysia, the USA, South Africa, Ghana, and countless from Nigerians who either want to buy, commission or encourage me to keep the flag flying.
Have your works been featured in any exhibition or gallery (and what has been the reaction or acceptance)?
Yes, my works have been featured thrice in the ‘Life in My City Art Festival’ exhibition/competition and has won prizes twice out of three times I’ve put in for it. 2015 Originality Price and 2016 Best Entry from Ibadan Zone. I have also featured in a group exhibition tagged ‘Convergence’. My work has received mixed reactions. Some would not want to buy claiming it’s new and might not be accepted by their clients; some collectors on the other hand are excited by my works.
Which of your works, so far, would you say gives you the greatest sense of accomplishment as an artist?
Every work comes with its own challenges, hence it’s difficult to fish out a single work that has given me the greatest source of accomplishment. Even the early ones I did that are not as catchy to many as the recent ones are very dear to me as they are the stepping stones that led me here.
Who is the strongest influence on your life as an artist?
My strongest influence is my husband who was my classmate back in school and my business partner in the clothing company I spoke about earlier. He was trained as a painter and his knowledge in use of colour, colour selection and combination has been very helpful. His critique of my work has also helped me improve.
What is the philosophy that drives you?
My philosophy towards work is that I make sure I move past my comfort zone as often as possible. It helps discover new things.Trust God to direct you always. In a patriarchal society like ours, it could be difficult to acknowledge outstanding achievements of females. This means as a female, you have to push harder and convince the world you’re good enough before doors would open. Till then, you’ll have to kick and push hard and relentlessly. Eventually, the door would give way.
and then