With Who Tiff Mona Lisa, Ogunshina Interrogates Artistic Values, Others

THE art community will never in a hurry forget Paul Cézanne, the French post- impressionist painter, who said: “A work of art, which isn’t based on feeling, isn’t art at all.”

Debola Santa Ogunshina takes this truism to its crest with his play titled, Who Tiff Mona Lisa?

The three- man act dwells on the complex challenge artists, especially visual artists, face to make their works known or accepted.

It shows how people, especially business- minded individuals, leverage on the injudiciousness of upcoming artists to make money.

Opening with Reki ( Austine Onuoha) brooding over his coming art show, dreaming to make it a talk- of- the- town show and to be counted among the masters. He looks forward to having a huge sale, especially, as most of his work can equate that of the maestros.

Eda ( Uche Chika Elumelu), his fiancée, walks into his apartment, where the works for the show are on display. Her business acumen alters Reki thoughts and opens a new vista to exploring the exhibition, where he hopes to make big money. She makes him believthat his paintings are restrictive and will need a broad- base works to attract the right patrons that will pay good money for any of the works on display. As his works alone cannot get the right money to keep her in the relationship.

Diminishing the lover’s works, the lady urges Reki to spice up his collections with works from great painters and artists, including Mona Lisa, a 15th century work of Leonardo da Vinci.

To actualise this dream, Eda hatches plan to travel to France to get Mona Lisa at all cost. The duo, however, embark on the mission impossible to steal Mona Lisa.

Presented at Terra Kulture, Victoria Island, Lagos, the play written, directed and produced by Debola Santa Ogunshina with Labelle Sunkanmi Adebayo as associate producer in a hilarious cruise, showcases the travail of upcoming artists.

With multiple themes, including nationality, materialism, rapacity, intimidation, among others, the play as a type reveals human hankering for foreign taste, even when such cravings are at the detriment of our lives and national pride. The pains and agonies the lovebirds face in the hands of Monseur Raphael ( Tunde Ojobaro), a deft, but not very successful tour guide of the museum that habits Mona Lisa tells this.

While plotting to steal Mona Lisa, the lovebirds throw caution in to the wind, when in the real sense of art appreciation; some of Reki’s works could go for masterpieces. This tells human inability to always look inward and believe in local content, local products, even when such contents, irrespective of their multifaceted messages, artful subtlety and splendor remain the best, we will still prefer the mind- numbing works of the masters, believing they are unsurpassed despite being outdated. Here, also the playwright projects how a nation could promote their nationals’ works.

Seeing the play from Reki’s views, Mona Lisa is a mere portrait of a woman. But, is it really that? No! The painting enjoys global hype because of the stories behind it and as well as the culture from where it is coming from.

The upcoming artist wants to use his exhibition to create that avenue, where the Nigerian or our local arts would be of a global discourse, but the high and might whose taste are foreign vilify this.

The play also accentuates the fact that art appreciation and value is subjective and this, sometimes, comes as a result of individual’s biases and cultural ethos. This to a large extent snowballs into what a nation see as its art icons.

Presenting the play in the open space adds a niche to the interpretation of the play and comprehension, as this assigns a double role to the original audience — firstly, as audience of the play and secondly, as art devotees of the museum that houses Mona Lisa.

Who Tiff Monalisa? With its minimal caste could go for a low budget play with doses of lessons for the audience.

With its strong messages and skillful laced plots, the characters showed mastery of their lines with Eda picking her vibes, using her tonal and body language to express herself and giving the play the right flow.

With this play, Ogunshina has, indeed, created a path for himself.