Okiriko Art Centre: Insight and the Photo Exhibition

 

Imagine you are taking a walk, driving or in a commercial vehicle, as you casually look on suddenly something makes you look back or stare again at that very place your gaze just shifted from. Now that moment that makes you want to see more is past but you may look on still after all it is free. On a related note some people have trained themselves and mastered the skill of capturing those spectacular moments that you would never get a second chance at, in places you have never been to; ‘through the eye of a mechanical lens’.

A good look at a photo will let you understand that the saying ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’ is both an understatement and a lack of knowledge about a captured image. Pictures and art can be unending stories that keep giving soothing suspense to the eye that connects these stories to the heart. 

The Okiriko Art Centre photo exhibition is an event an update like this won't be enough to express. This exhibition was carried out by six esteemed photographers: Bamzi Stevens, Onochie Osumuo, Tersoo Gundu, Ijabila Mada, Bolu Adelabu and Azuka Chukwumerije. PurpleSilver however got an interview with the Director of Okiriko Art Centre: Azuka Chuwumerije and an exhibiting photographer Tersoo Gundu: a seasoned photographer who is crazy about photography, reasonably speaking this kind of craze is good as the results are a reflection of committed work and dedication to the sacred art of photography. 

The Okiriko Art Center located on No. 28 Joseph Wayas Street, Zone B, Apo Legislative Quarters, Abuja was packed with all sorts of people who had come on account of the photo exhibition. You can now imagine how getting the time of an elegant, well informed Director of this Art gallery would look like but hear her yourself in this interview:

PS - Why did you take on this line of business?

Azuka - I am an artist, studied Fine and Applied Arts in UNN and went on to study and practice other forms of art including photography. I love art. I have always wanted to own a business that would directly address the needs of artists and not just fine artists but creative people in general.

PS -What is the purpose of this art gallery?

Azuka - Okiriko Art Center, is a creative art center offering various services like arts and crafts for children, creative workshops, opportunities for artists to interact, a drawing club and also the gallery. The purpose of the gallery is to serve as a showcasing platform for various art/creative products. Our exhibitions again, aren't just for paintings and sculptures, we exhibit jewelry, clothing, crafts, children's arts and crafts, photography and of course the conventional paintings and drawings.

PS - What do you see as the future of art in Nigeria?

Azuka - Personally, and I don't necessarily speak with authority as I have, up till recent years, lived outside of Nigeria, but I do see a strong future in terms of Arts in Nigeria. Art like all else has been influenced a lot by international trends. You see the evidence of this mostly is in Lagos though, here in Abuja it's still dragging quite a bit. But I do believe that with time, more artists will be affected by this movement. This is not to say that our Art should lose identity but on the contrary should push beyond its present constrain and find ever new forms of content delivery, which is basically what art has evolved to over time.

PS - What do you hope to achieve with this photo exhibition?

Azuka - We hope to sell haha!! and of course our long term goal is to promote photography as an art form. Like I said earlier, Abuja is still quite behind where it concerns art. Photography is considered just a way to document a special occasion like a wedding or anniversary, capture special moments shared with friends and family or get a family portrait. This is all good, but we need to step it up a notch. Photography is a valid art form, which requires just as much creative energy as a painting or sculptural piece. In fact the word photography is derived from the Greek photos- for "light" and graphos - for "drawing", meaning drawing with light.  Photography, like other art forms cannot be for everyone, we all know the saying it's not the camera but the person taking the shot, as we've heard reference been made to the "eye of the photographer". We encourage people to eagerly add photography to their art collection.

PS - When would you give people another event?

Azuka - We are planning an Arts and Crafts Tea Party for children for the 2nd week of December. We will have loads of fun creative activities for the children. Any child 6 - 12 is welcome.

PS - Where do you see this art gallery taking art or Nigerian artists?

Azuka - Our vision for the gallery is to become a well-grounded (nationally and internationally) center for the production, promotion and exhibition of art. Thereby bringing together diverse art and artists, this can only lead to the kind of exchange that exposes and betters us as artists. Naturally our audience is also constantly being educated on new and diverse art.

PS - How is art related to the daily life of an average Nigerian?

Azuka - The history of art is the very history of humanity.  The appreciation and need for art is primeval and fundamental, the value it adds is immediately apparent and we very willingly pay more for something creatively done as opposed to one thoughtlessly put together. As Nigerians we are just as human as everyone else. Granted economic down-turn does inhibit one's ability to buy and with time even appreciate "artworks", but we should never lose sight of the fact that art is not just about buying a big expensive painting and hanging on your wall, it goes much further. Its appreciation should show in how we create, appreciate and maintain the environment around us, from the smallest to the biggest things. It's not about money; it's really about your level of consciousness as you interact with your environment. Let's keep in mind that your environment can only be a reflection of you, your will.. as the exquisitely beautiful creation is a reflection of the Will of the Creator.

PS - Why should people especially Nigerians patronise art galleries?

Azuka - Why not?

PS –Hahaha… Any other thing people need to know, be it about you, your work or what to do or expect from your art gallery?

 Azuka - We especially want to use this forum to highlight our work with kids. The difference between a developed society and a 3rd-world is creative thinking. As the future generation, one of the ways we should invest in our children, in addition to school, sports and right diet is by putting them in creatively challenging art and music programmes - food for the creative left brain. No, this is not to make them grow up and become artists, but to provide the necessary counter-balance to dry erudition by stimulating creative thinking - the need to constantly improve quality of life, develop life-long intuitive problem solving skills and an enthusiastic appreciation of beauty!

Azuka - Thank you.

PS – Thank you so much for your time and insight, hopeful; we should be around to capture your December programme with the kids.

In the art displayed space demonstrating to collectors, friends and visitors is a gentleman in a light coat. Obviously he knows his job and is very comfortable relating to people about it like a fish mingles in its waters. It will be a sin not to peek into Tersoo Gundu’s world to understand phography and his interest in exhibiting:  

PS - What is the photo exhibition all about?
Tersoo G - It's an exhibition titled "through the eye of a mechanical lens", basically it is an appreciation of the medium of storytelling called "photography”, a collection of works by 6 photographers from around Nigeria
 

PS  - Has your work a particular artistic rhythm or it is a random collection of creativity?
Tersoo G - My collection is a body of work showing men on construction site working. Showing how houses are been built in Abuja, with bare hands and basic equipment like shovels, wheelbarrows.

PS - Being an exhibiting artist, what would you say this exhibition promises the interested public?
Tersoo G - I would say an understanding of the world around us through the medium of photography.

              
                                             

PS - Where do you see photography years from now?
Tersoo G - I think there a growing curiosity towards the power of photography and how it can change the world around, photography has always been thought provoking, helping us look inward and think about of world in different ways.

PS - Do you think Nigerian photographers are living up to expectation compared to their global counterparts?
Tersoo G - We have wonderful photographers in Nigeria some have been praised by the world but on a general level we majorly have commercial photographers, but yes a good number of photographers are changing the way they approach photography and understanding that it is a tool that can be used for more good than Aesthetics.

PS - Is this exhibition about the only way photography can gain public admiration or patronage or there are others?
Tersoo G - No. Buts it's good start point. The beautiful thing about an exhibition and it's opening, is that the artist interacts with its audience and there is instant feedback, somewhat of an exchange program.

PS - Is the appreciation of photography by the Nigerian market worth the time and effort?
Tersoo G - Everywhere in the world photography is challenging but what drives us is passion and a course. With that it's worth everything.
  
                                         

PS - What do you think would improve the lot of photographers and photography in Nigeria?
Tersoo G - I think more interactions with photographers, workshops, seminars and exhibitions. That's how we can grow.

PS - Any other thing you wish to share on the creative purpose of photography and use of an exhibition?

Tersoo G - A quote from Susan Sontag’s book "On photography” explains it: She says (talking about photography) "... The more you know about something the more complex it becomes"

It doesn't matter if you’re looking through a microscope or a telescope it all leads to infinity. And to me those are the possibilities in photography. Infinity!


PS – Thank you so much Tersoo Gundu for your time, we hope to talk to you soon.

Tersoo G – You are welcome anytime.