TEMPLE MUSE CLOCKS 10, LAUNCHES NEW SOLO
The luxury store and the hub of contemporary arts in Nigeria, Temple Muse is 10. To celebrate this anniversary, it is showcasing a new collection of works by Olumide Onadipe, an experimental visual artist. Titled Connecting the Dots, the show is curated by SMO Contemporary Art with support from Veuve Clicquot.
The show which opened on May 14 bares all about Onadipe’s interpretation of universal themes whilst appropriating every day materials. From plastic bags to juice packs, Onadipe’s thirst for recycling technique runs from form to content.
This graduate of University of Nigeria, Nsukka presents a collection that speaks of his hard work, resilience and deep thinking, using bold colours. His choice of materials clearly hinges on his perspective on our social realities. “The materials I explore, polythene bags, newspapers, jute and cement bags, electrical cables, ink, paint, wood and metal reflect ordinary Nigerian life and question our consumerism. A continent that supports the economy of the rest of the world now has need for support and a people of earliest inventors and inventions have become consumers,” he said.
As soon as Onadipe discovered his interest in melting plastics, his ingenuity in making visual statement was born. He never liked clay though he finished up at art school as a sculptor. In this show, he manipulated several found materials to articulate his views on migration, development and other global topics.
For him, every artist should continue to explore irrespective of one’s age. To do the bidding of Migo’s Walk it Talk it hip-hop anthem, Onadipe inadvertently paints a series of human forms with leaf motifs to explore a least discussed subject in art circles- agriculture.
For instance, with the painting titled “Muscle Economy”, Onadipe issues a commentary on the need for Nigeria to invest in mechanised farming in order for the agricultural sector to be saved from muscle pulls in form of low productivity and decline in man power.
Other attention-grabbing pieces at the show are “Brexit Fullstop”, “Pyramid Scheme”, “Ball Man” and “We Are Not the Same But the Same”. While fielding questions from journalists at the preview on his use of colours, Onadipe expressed the philosophical view: you can’t paint the colour of the mind.