National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
Arts Lounge
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
25
ARTISTE UNCENSORED
My passion for cartoon art started early–Jimga
Jimoh Ganiyu fondly called Jimga is one of the emerging voices in cartoon art in Nigeria. Isiguzo Destiny
H
e is also an intellectual and a researcher on cartoons as communicative metaphors and symbols which usually, he brings to bear on his works. Of all the various genres of creative arts, one wonders why Jimga chose to go into cartoon. Reacting to this, Jimga says: “I believe my passion for advocacy for justice in the society is strong. Only cartoon being a political tool always published in the mass media gives me that opportunity to visually lampoon the excesses of the political class. This passion started when I was a very young boy. It started right from the age of 5, I could remember vividly how I was able to recapture most of the scenes in animation movies and will in turn show to my first teacher in life; my mum. I believe art is life and life is art. Art creates in our minds the essence of existence. My passion for art stemmed from childhood. I marvelled at extra-ordinary creations by God and imitations by men. The capabilities of artists in capturing the vividness of nature intrigued me. The passion grew deeper when I started getting more exposure into the power of art to recreate reality. This informed my decision to go into uncommon grounds where I could use my God given potentials to contribute to building a better society”. Jimoh Ganiyu believes the cartoonist is very relevant to the society and defends this stand by capturing the roles of the carton artist especially, in political struggles: “the relevance of cartooning in the society cannot be overemphasised. Political leaders are always afraid of being captured in cartoon satires because they know they go a long way in affecting people’s opinion towards them. Cartoon was part of anticolonialism weapons engaged by African nationalists during the struggle for independence. A good example can be cited dur-
ing Nigeria’s struggle for independence. Dr. Nnamdi Azikwe with his experience in the United States of America on significance of cartoon engaged the first Nigerian cartoonist, Akinola Lasekan to satirise lots of colonial anomalies in ‘ The West African Pilot’ - a newspaper. This is because majority of the people could neither read nor write. The visual imageries embedded in the cartoons went a long way in enriching their understanding of the political ambiance”. Like all artists, Jimoh Ganiyu sets out to achieve a purpose through his cartoons. His main objective is to serve as mirror to the socio-political ills in our society. Through his art, he always advocates for a society of equality and peaceful co-existence, often lampooning social and political vices as to call the people involved to order. He is not deterred by the material unattractiveness of being a cartoon artist, he believes that contributing to the society is something that can only be done out of passion. As he said, being a cartoon artist is not lucrative in Nigeria. “In this part of the world, cartoon is far from being lucrative. Most of the cartoonists in Nigeria create cartoons out of passion and the will to contribute their quota to national development”. When asked who was his role model in Nigeria? He said, “my role model is one of the greatest cartoonists Nigeria has ever produced- Josy Ajiboye. He is a living legend”. Apart from drawing cartoons, Jimga is a renowned researcher in cartoons. This is one of the areas where he broke grounds. Jimga has achieved several things through cartoons and when asked “what has been your greatest achievement through the cartoons?” He said “I have won several awards for my cartoons. The greatest for now is University
of Lagos Best Researcher of the Year Award in the Arts, 2011”. The researcher said the award gave him a new purpose. He saw that cartoons are not just there to make people laugh, he discovered the esteem in doing and carving a niche for oneself in whatever one does. He believes that often times, cartons are very comic and are saddled with great responsibilities. This responsibilities could be cultural, religious, entertainment, social, political etc but the issues his cartoons usually addresses are socio-political issues which are very dominant in his works. I sought to know whether he was born a cartoonist. He shrugged, paused for a while in deep thinking and said, “well...most artists are talented with creative instinct. So I can’t say it is an accident. I discovered my talent when I was still a kid. There was that burning desire to scribble, to represent my thoughts in concrete form. So it was intentional.” Jimga does not just draw cartoons; he plays video games and watches movies whenever he wants to relax.
At an art fair
Political leaders are always afraid of being captured in cartoon satires because they know they go a long way in affecting
people’s opinion about them Exhibition bookcover
MIDWEEK JUMP
Open Mic Night with Lolo
L
olo is the host of the Open Mic Night where lyricists, poets, rappers, and those well versed in spoken word perform to a live audience. Come experience and listen to great minds interpret the society, lay path to a better way for Nigeria or just talk about love in a heart wrenching way. The event begins by 7pm on Thursday, 19th March 2015 at Bogobiri, Ikoyi, Lagos State. Admission is free.
The Jaja Band at Bogobiri
J
oin Jaja and his band today, at the beautiful Bogobiri. It is a good way to relax after work or indulge in a weekly event during the week. They have a choice range of drinks and small chops to enjoy while listening to the live band. The event begins by 7pm today, 18th March, 2015 at Bogobiri, Ikoyi, Lagos State. Admission is Free.