Valour, Hope Rejuvenate At Olotu’s Moods Relics Of Courage
ART is a vehicle of communication, a way to express visions that are beyond the capacity of words, and a medium for cultural and political enlightenment.
These were the words of Jude Olotu at the unveiling of his works at the Thought Pyramid Arts Centre, Abuja, recently.
The show was part of the artist’s efforts at raising awareness for his campaign on state of the nation and need for Nigerians to be more courageous.
Titled, Moods Relics of Courage, Olotu said, “because artistic media like film, poetry and paintings have the power to send impactful messages that resonate with audiences, artists use their work to express their truth, wrestle with social norms and bring about change.”
Described as a resounding success by visitors to the show, it was indeed a festival of courage. It was home to art lovers, curators and collectors of different nationalities.
It also provided art enthusiasts opportunity to learn and cash in on the new wave of block chain technology sweeping the art space.
Children were not left out too, as there was an art workshop for them . They were introduced to art and given a taste of painting.
Addressing the guests, Olotu unveiled the Excel Signature Creative Hub, which according to him, started in 2019, and is now built into a haven for those interested in fine arts, digital arts, sculpturing, metal art, wood art, interior design, product design, cinematography and music.
In his plans for the future, he also unveiled his reality TV show tagged, “The Art Maestro of the Year”, scheduled for the second part of 2022. An interesting painting was also created during the event called, The Lion of Courage.
Olotu said he was ready to let the public see a side of him that has never before been revealed.
“My art is my vulnerability, my offering, my protest and my pain. It is like peeling away the layers of my personality and seeing into my soul. I had to be ready and I am ready.”
He added that for long, he withheld exhibition of his works, as a tool to communicate his sadness on the state of the nation.
“It is my own protest but it is time for the public to come and share my journey with me in my first solo show titled, Relics of Courage.”
Olotu had exhibited some of his works for the first time in March at the World Art Exhibition in Dubai, and was said to have received rave review.
“Now, it is Abuja’s turn. I am an engineer by training but a painter by calling. I hail from the Niger Delta and grew up in the City of Jos, where the landscape was as if it was painted on canvas.
“From the tabletop plateaus to the flowing rivers and grasslands, it was where my talent was born,” he said.
One of the guests at the exhibition, Omolola Olakunri, noted that you couldn’t help but stop and stare, as he unraveled the layers of mystery and thought that went into each masterpiece.
“The first abstract that I was privileged to see held me spellbound till I had an epiphany. It was a 4- foot painting of crescents of gold. It spoke to the beauty, malleability and indestructibility of gold
while being stunning enough to be eyecatching.
“That and more than 300 equally incredible works of art, sum up the various moods of a prodigious artist who speaks through his craft. He is a self- effacing artist, who up till now, has had few exhibitions but whose body of work occupies a whole building, and is packed to the rafters. That is however set to change now.”
Olakunri said: “Olotu started an abstract realism of a lion and invited all the guests at the event to add their own colours and strokes to the artwork. A true masterpiece from the art maestro himself. Basically, it is impossible to cursorily stroll past Olotu’s painting. His art pulls you in with an intensity and depth,”
Speaking on the Excel Signature Creative Hub, Olakunri described it as a place where creative artists are nurtured in fine arts and other art forms.
“The artists are also given exposure on national and international scales. The hub is already paying dividends to the society as an array of talents is being filled regularly due to the mentorship and tutelage of Olotu.”