By Adeola Ogunlade
As part of the effort toward celebrating and preserving Nigeria’s culture, heritage, and identity, a creative artist and storyteller, Olubukola Bolarinde held a solo exhibition last weekend at Eko Atlantic City, Lagos.
The exhibition titled ‘106 Expressions’, curated by Nike Davies-Okundaye, is a first-of-its-kind featuring 85 artworks and two fashion designers who showcased ten fabrics each on the runway at a construction site. The exhibition will also hold in Venice, Italy, later in the year.
Among the art works include: Danfo, Akanmu, Asmu, Safiya, Makoko at night, Magaji, Funfun, Peace and Unity, the deep blue, Ile wa, Mowa pelu re, tide, Keturah, Wusasa, Ni Ibadan ni won bi won si, Oguta, Ooni Orisa, Aduke, Speak no evil. Ogiame, and Saki.
The event brought artists, industrialists, government officials, traditional rulers, and art enthusiasts, and spiced with local musicals to enliven the guests.
Among the guests is the Ooni of Ife, Oba, Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Oniru of Iruland, Oba Abdulwasiu Omogbolahan Lawal, Lagos State Head of Service, Mr. Hakeem Muri-Okunola, founder of Elizade Motors, Micheal Ade-Ojo, among others.
Speaking at the event, Olubukola Bolarinde said his artworks are stories. Every piece carries its unique message and tells a different story, transporting you into a place, time, scene, experience, or emotion.”
She noted she is breaking away from the conventional norms to give people a unique experience.
“106 Expressions is a collection of artworks celebrating our African heritage, people, and culture. I have drawn inspiration from my experiences as an African child.”
“The works transport you to a place and a time, perceived through an African child’s mind. A different time from the times we now live in. Many children have not and will never have these experiences as our world evolves.”
She said the artwork is about our people, our lives, identity, culture, heritage, and our uniqueness as a people. It represents and portrays the cultural story of being African, and the cultural story of being Nigerian, growing up as an African child in this continent.
“It is a story of unity in diversity. The story that clearly exhibits the north, south, east, and the west and the fact that we are all one-Nigeria and unified entity, that is the story”, she said.
What inspires her artworks, Bolarinde said “I am inspired by everything around me. They are borne out of my experiences.
“I spent my formative years in Northern Nigeria. I have a load of stories from there, their upbringing, and their background. I heard stories of where I schooled in the north in Zaria, Kaduna State. I heard stories of people that have sharpened my life and that story is what am bringing to bear in these artworks”, she said.
Bolarinde, a self-taught artist said that although, she had no formal training in art, which according to her can be daunting in her quest to fit into the industry, said Art is subjective and is about the audience who connects to one’s creativity.
Speaking about the venue, a trained architect, Bolarinde said that she would draw from her natural habitat as an architect, which is the construction site.
“For the first time, I am staging an exhibition in such a venue and building it from scratch. It is the first of its kind in Nigeria to host such a show on a construction site; in an uncompleted building, I am bringing people and immersing them into an experience that elsewhere did not exist.”
So, that immersive experience, walking from start to finish at Eko Atlantic City, is the 106th exhibit.”
Speaking about her commitments to preserving the Nigerian culture through her exhibition, the filmmaker said, “I‘m telling a story about our culture, people, and land. When you look at my artwork, it is all an African story; there is a story in every single one. My background and influences fuse into my art and translate into my pieces.”
“My art transports you to places, times, people, and cultures. You will see many African faces and people in African attires. For instance, you see a lady in Jalabia, all wrapped up. Immediately, it is distinct in the North. You see a man from the Durbar on a horse and transport you there. You see the Eyo with the kings, and you know you are in the south,” she said.
Bolarinde, who started painting in 2020 during the pandemic, said that she had always had an innate passion for the arts.