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Taiwo Owoyemi is
definitely a ladies’ man in terms of his Art. He happily admits so. And
to dispel any doubts about his preference for ladies, he has a giant
near-seven-foot wood sculpture of a lady selling, ‘Dignity of Labour’
that stands very proudly in the exhibition hall of Bruce Onobrakpeya’s
Harmattan Workshop in Agbarha Otor, Delta State.

He was able to
create this masterpiece in just under ten days and he credits the
serene nature of the workshop’s location at Agbarha Otor for this
achievement. Since 2006, Owoyemi has produced more than 10 carvings of
ladies. Why ladies? “I find the female form more interesting,” he
responds. “I find it interesting working with female forms because
there are a lot of characteristics to work with,” the artist Owoyemi
explains. “Styling and distorting the form to make it your own,” he
continues, “is a satisfying challenge,” adding that, “female forms are
more interesting than male forms.” He also points out that he is in
good company. “As artists we are attracted to the opposite sex and,
work more on the opposite sex. Most of Joe Musa and Ovraiti’s paintings
are based on women and so are Eghosa Oguigo’s paintings of dancers. My
wood sculptures or carvings incorporate both traditional and modern
concepts. I like looking at my carvings from the traditional concept in
terms of their make-up, beads, things that make the costumes and
generally make the works more attractive.”

Good wood

Owoyemi graduated
in 2006 from the Adeyemi College of Education; that awards Obafemi
Awolowo University degrees, with a major in Sculpture.

Why does he work
with wood? “I find wood a medium quite easy to work with, unlike
fibreglass, because when you get good wood, you have already seen the
end product. Working with wood will also reduce your distractions while
working because you will not be thinking about resins, mixing cement
and things like that.”

What are his
favourite wood species? “Ebony and teak, because they are more
durable.” How does he deal with realities like cracks in the wood?

“It depends on how
you master your art,” he explains. “As a wood carver, you will be able
to notice good wood before working on them and, you should be able to
dodge away from the cracks and achieve what you want because there is
no mistake in art. There is always the possibility that you can
transform the cracks to ornamentals and motifs that still go in line
with the work and add beauty.”

Is he
incorporating new ideas of ornamentation into his wood sculptures? “I
use ear-rings and traditional tattoos to adorn my works and make them
more traditional and African? What is the life span of his wood
sculptures? “I treat my wood when I work and; except for fire, I don’t
think they will get spoilt. Wood is a durable material especially good
wood; which should be preserved well; away from a moist environment.”

Taiwo Owoyemi held
his first solo exhibition, ‘Strokes N Dots’, at the Hexagon, Benin
City, Edo State from December 8 to 12, 2010; he sold more paintings
than sculptures on that outing. The attendance was massive, especially
at the opening which attracted a lot of art lecturers, the public and
curator of the National Gallery of Art, Benin City. According to him,
“the exhibition was about efforts and results and meant to tell a story
of my works as well as document them.” Because of space constraint, he
was able to display two reliefs and 23 paintings. Sales were fairly
good.

Long way to go

Nonetheless he
believes there is a long way to go. “The average Nigerian does not
appreciate sculpture, especially wood carvings, because they associate
them with fetish. They link them to idols and don’t want them in their
homes. They prefer paintings,” Owoyemi laments. “They don’t appreciate
the aesthetic value of arts because of lack of orientation,” he
explains. “My style of wood carving is not traditional per se. It is
more academic as I work with forms a lot!” He comes from Ikere-Ekiti in
Ekiti State and he is the first and only artist in his family. His
favourite sculptors are Nelson Edewor, who influenced him; and
Bamishile Hassan, based in Ife.

He started painting
in November 2009 and, having delved into it for practical as well as
artistic reasons. “I have a lot of sketches of sculptures that I have
not been able to work on. So I decided to do some of them as paintings
and put them in pictorial form; which is easier and more mobile than
sculptures. They require less space than sculptures.”

Different strokes

Meanwhile Taiwo
Owoyemi is still coming to terms with strong social perceptions about
his wood carvings of women. “Some people frown at nude carvings,” he
complains, “because they say it promotes immorality while others
appreciate the forms.” He is not about to let these views alter his
direction and creativity. “As an artist, I should be able to enlighten
people on my own view and intentions. I have my part to play in
enlightening the public,” he declares.

In the hand-out programme that accompanied ‘Strokes N Dots’, Owoyemi
waxes strong, that “success in life not being accidental, but must be
planned for.” He insists that, “no man is interested in excuse but only
result.” “I see man’s efforts like the different strokes a painter
makes to achieve an effect or forms on his canvass and the Dots are
representations of how successful the efforts turn out to be, as a
result of his skills and diligence,” he concludes.