North West artists dialogue in Hunturu
No less than 65 works were exhibited at the Banquet Hall of the NAF Club, Kaduna in the second leg of the 2017 North West Art Fair organized by the National Gallery of Art (NGA), last Thursday.
The event which featured works of about fifty artists was themed ‘Hunturu: The Harmattan Dialogue’ and was organized to promote artists in the geopolitical zone. The choice of the theme is an attempt by the NGA to draw attention to the weather condition, its direct and indirect influence on man, plants, animals, insects and microbes. Harmattan is a cold, dry, dusty windy weather condition that occurs between November and March.
The exhibition was a reflection of how much the dynamism in visual arts practice in Nigeria has evolved over the years. The works commanded the attention of all who saw them by their presentation, colours, media and size.
According to Hon. Daniel Auta, Commissioner for Youth, Sports and Culture, Kaduna State who represented the governor, the fair had offered the platform upon which the creative cultural sector can be steered into mainstream economic activity.
Urging more commitment to such initiatives, Chairman of the event, Prof. Sule Bello said Nigeria needs to be creative for its own selfrealisation, stressed that the event should not be regarded as a mere exercise but instead be viewed as the start of an endeavour that has the capability to deliver a creative base to our efforts as a nation that seeks not only to express but also to develop itself.
The Director General of the NGA, Mr. Abdullahi Muku, said the zonal art fair is one of the programs of the NGA that creates conditions and platform for the galleries and artists to make their presence known, sell their works, and forge links with the art industry’s major players.
He said, “The NGA hopes that the fair and other satellite events that will pop up will be vital to Kaduna, the host city and to the visual arts social scene.”
This outing had a number of mixed media works, beads on board, photography, glass design, ceramics, pencil on colour paper, oil on canvas, acrylic on canvas, pastel on board and pen and ink on board, among others.
There were also some unique works like ‘African Stool (Yahaya Suleiman) made from cow horn and other repurposed materials.
Some of the artists like Binta Garba, Salisu Mata, Abigail Abrak, Nafiyu Mohammed and Mikah Ibrahim named their works after the exhibition theme and reflected the regular narratives associated with the weather during the harmattan season. These narratives include cold, chapped lips and feet, frequent tea drinking, dust, windiness, leafless trees and the hunt for water.
Other works like ‘Ready for Harmattan’ (Ayuba Tete), ‘Gray’ (Twemidayo Odutokun), ‘Harmattan’ (Frank Enahoro) showed the extent to which harmattan influenced dressing and dress culture.
The artists did not restrict themselves to treating just the theme but created works which dealt with cultural subjects, girl child education and agriculture, among others, while some simply created aesthetic pieces.
Kaltume Gana one of the exhibiting artists, and curator of the NGA’s Kano office, explained her work, ‘Friendship’ - a call for more tolerance, bond and respect for others and environment.
She said, “I used shades of brown and orange, the predominant colours in the harmattan and a representation of earth which I am saying should be respected and protected. The green symbolizes vegetation and food.
“The mat is specifically woven as a friendship mat or a mat for friends, the ‘shantu’ (a traditional musical instrument) and kolanuts are items which are used to entertain.”
Another artist, Zinbe Sabo said his work, ‘Chibok’ is an interrogation of the events that have surrounded the kidnap of the Chibok girls.
He said, “I have used brilliant colours and firmness of their physiques to show their youth, strength and vibrancy. Amidst all these, there are shades of gray all over the work which shows the gloom and sadness that surrounds the unfortunate incident.”
The Gallery says it will continue to push communities to freely exchange idea, while situating different host cities as destinations for even and equitable benefits of social economic dividends, while using the exhibition was a call for sustained dialogue on the effects of man’s actions and viable alternatives to such actions on the environment.