Nigeria Content Online

‘Art of Rebellion’,
a joint exhibition of artwork by renowned graphic artist Lemi Ghariokwu
and Weyinmi Atigbi, opened at The Life House in Victoria Island, Lagos,
on April 19.

All the works on
display had the inimitable Fela Anikulapo-Kuti as their subject matter.
Ghariokwu has done a lot of work, i.e. album sleeves and paintings, on
the afrobeat legend and activist in the past.

He continues to
release works based on the ideologies and principles of Fela and some
of the works as recent as 2010 were on display.

They feature a
mishmash of vivid colours, graffiti and newspaper clippings, some of
them bearing slogans like ‘Afrobeat no go die’, ‘Kalakuta Ltd’ and
cartoons in Pidgin English.

On the title ‘Art
of Rebellion’, Ghariokwu said it was first coined by the UK Guardian
newspaper in an article written about his work. He added that, “Fela
was rebelling and I provided the art to that.”

He said of his
fascination with Fela : “It is based on my predestination. I believe
Fela and I were pre-ordained to work on the project ‘Mental
Liberation’. It was not a chance meeting. It was spiritual not
superficial,” said the artist, who met Fela some 33 years ago, when he
was 18 and the latter was 35.

“I designed most of
his album covers, 26 in all, in a period spanning three decades. We
started out as acolyte and master. He was my master,” he added. “I
pioneered record sleeve-designing as a career in Nigeria. I have
designed over 2000 album covers for the likes of Oliver de Coque, Osita
Osadebe, Shina Peters, The Mandators, Bob Marley, Orits Wiliki, Lucky
Dube, Brenda Fassie, Mariah Carey, Yvonne Chaka Chaka and many others,”
Ghariokwu disclosed.

Afro pop art

On the message of
his art: “We (Fela and I) have a message for Africans. Africans have
been down under for so long. The solution is to emancipate ourselves
from mental slavery, which Fela propagated. And I continue to
illustrate what he was saying visually,” he said.

Ghariokwu added
that, “My role is to help disseminate Fela’s message.” The artist, who
is particular about staying relevant in this technologically advanced
digital age, has invented what he calls ‘afro pop art’.

“I felt I needed to
recreate myself. I work digitally. It’s part of my trying to stay
relevant to this digital age. When we started we did everything by hand
but things have changed,” said the artist.

Correspondingly,
all his works on display were of mixed media. One of his contemporary
innovations is the use of perspex. “I use perspex. It’s plastic. I
wanted to do something fresh.” He added that his experience with neon
signage came in handy in using perspex in the paintings.

In one of the mixed
media paintings, which has newspaper clippings, the artist explained
that, “the newspaper clippings are from different newspaper articles
which celebrate Fela. I put it all together to show that Fela is
celebrated.”

Four works by
Atigbi, who was absent, were also on display. Atigbi is also a graphic
designer, printmaker and photographer. ‘Pouch with Seven Lives’ is a
painting of Fela’s face shrouded in shades that seem to reflect mystery
and mystique.

Other works
include: ‘Wall of Age’, ‘The Voice’ and ‘Breast Plate’ which shows a
semi-naked woman bedecked in tribal ornaments, reminiscent of Fela’s
female dancers, with palms covering her naked breasts.

This timely exhibition coincides with the ‘FELA! in Lagos’, the
Broadway musical, which ends tomorrow at Eko Hotel, Victoria Island.