VOLUME IV / ISSUE XI / NOVEMBER 2020
Adubi Mydaz Makinde
I Have A Dream
and holidays. Out of these numerous practices came the best fine art pupil in my primary school. Drawing itself gave me a beautiful childhood memory filled with fun and happiness. Art was my first love as a kid because drawing cowboys and horses with colored pencils and crayons and painting minimalist vehicles on wood planks was a daily hubby. As luck would have it, those cultural objects, later on, came to play a big part in my depiction and stylization of an austere figurative composition, giving voluptuous form to enigmatic faces whose ethereal heads and bodies seem to flip right off the surface of canvas. I sustained and improved my artistic skills graciously until after high school, when I met a remarkable realism master artist named Mr. Tope Fatunbi in Ibadan, who agreed to show me secrets of the trade. My apparent commitment to all that is art got me the responsibility of the assistant manager to Topfat Art Studio & Gallery in Ibadan, Oyo State, between 1999-2000. This would be one outstanding milestone in my professional steps into the noble career of fine art and a remarkable moment when I was nursing the idea of becoming a professional artist. Where do you currently live and work? I am currently based in Lagos. My private studio practice and gallery representation, including major exhibitions, page 152
has been woven around here so far. This is because apart from Lagos being the city of imagination, it is the wealthiest state in Nigeria; as such, the Lagos art market sustains its artists quite effectively, and it’s the window to reach out to more opportunities beyond the shores of Nigeria. Your work today pays homage to your Yoruba heritage, Egyptian and Ethiopian Coptic art, and interestingly, the Harlem renaissance. What drew you to these elements, and what do they mean to you? Africans—and I as one—have always been a people of artistic expression and also dramatic impressions. If you delve deeply into the history, you’ll find the interwovenness of a thread line in the social-cultural properties of Egyptian, Ethiopian and several ethnic groups of sub-Saharan Africa, out of which the Yoruba are one of the prominent people. My artwork has thus succeeded in uniting and stitching these elements together by exploring undeniable traits that are commonly found in their artistic expressions. For instance, I discovered a lot of similarities in Coptic art style with the art pieces of aboriginal people of sub-Saharan Africa. You will find these across centuries-old sculptures, wood carving, doorposts of West Africa, from Yoruba and Togolese woodcarvers to Egyptian wall reliefs and Ethiopian wall paintings. The main subject or the most
Me, Myself and I
significant personalities in a composition are somewhat depicted larger than other figures. After this discovery, I said, why not consider this in my artwork too. Though it was like taking a risk, I am very happy with the outcome now. My Coptic art approach is well embraced within art circles, including art collectors and fellow artists. I genuinely love to create unique artworks with the hope of inspiring others, so I basically stay away from popular routine and techniques because my joy comes from creating something entirely new. In addition, my findings also established that African Kingdoms had a unique way of communicating from one end of the geographical region to the other; despite what we were told by the imperialists that ancient Africans do not have a method of writing, our ancestors did this effectively with symbolism. Here you can refer to the Adinkra symbols of Ghana, their meanings and usage and hieroglyphics symbols as seen on the walls and pillars of Egyptian ruins. I sometimes borrow from these sacred writings to express unique values in African social cultural identity. You can relate to this forgone eclectic knowledge in my Adinkra symbols artwork series. With regards to the Harlem renaissance, we are currently witnessing a new social-cultural landscape in Lagos, Nigeria, just like when black Americans