At home with ‘The Master…’
By Funsho Aina
IN all my previous encounters with Prof. Bruce Obomeyoma Onobrakpeya, most especially in my former life as an Arts Reporter, yesterday would be the very first time that I would be meeting him at home cum studio. However, I could not believe what I saw. The once upscale Papa Ajao area where he lives has been converted into a dental floss by spare parts dealers, who spilled over from the neighbouring Ladipo area.
Inch by inch, they are swallowing up the entire space, and aggressively too, forcing homeowners to move out, while treating the ‘recalcitrant’ ones with the dignity of yesterday’s garbage. The good professor falls within the latter bucket as he has vowed not to abandon a property he has inhabited since August 1976!
50 solid years!!!
According to him, back then, when he just completed the two-storey building, the area was very exclusive and quiet, almost to the point of isolation. But not anymore. Now it is so congested, densely populated and decrepit, as to eminently qualify as a depressed neighbourhood with all the bonafides.
Parking space on his street comes at a premium. To look for alternatives on equally choked, adjoining rabbits’ warren, passing of as streets, is to draw the ire of some funny chaps whose mental elevators were not only skipping floors, but frequently bursting through the roof, as one of them almost demonstrated yesterday.
The narrow, tin-sided alleyways are no-go areas, and the pervasive bedlam everywhere is disconcerting. Yet, the renowned printmaker, master sculptor and painter, has found a way to cut through the clutter; shut out the noise and chaos, as he continues to churn out masterpieces, even at 94!
Littering his studio are both old and new creations, in his characteristic medium/media of plastocast reliefs, metal foils, print blocks and different relief sculptures in varying degrees of completion. He has even found a way to turn discarded, old vehicle parts into attention-grabbing artforms, most especially car dashboards. Renowned culture communicator and art enthusiast, Jahman Anikulapo, who accompanied me on the visit, had to tell me to remove my lower jaw from the floor where it had fallen, when I saw the pieces!
It is amazing how Prof. Onobrakpeya remains creatively productive, not only in this ‘Gotham city’ environment, but at his age. He continues to demonstrate why he is one of the most-showcased visual artists from black Africa, whose works have been exhibited at some of the frontline art galleries in the world, which includes Tate Modern in London, and Smithsonian in the US.
One of the very few survivors of the famous ‘Zaria Rebels’ art movement, which fought tooth and nail to decolonize visual arts as taught by expatriate Europeans in the 1950s; today, his legacy goes beyond his exceptionally outstanding artworks, but through the democratization of knowledge.
He runs the ‘Bruce Onobrakpeya Foundation,’ which organises the annual ‘Harmattan Workshop’ in his hometown of Agbahra-Otor, Delta State. It is an artist-led NGO formed in 1999, which aims to encourage the growth of art and culture by giving artists opportunities to gain skills, while increasing public awareness of African art and its benefits to society.
Sir, it was a great honour ‘breaking kolanut’ in your home! I am immensely grateful.
* Aina is a communications specialist
