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.
