Barring his age and mannerism, there was nothing else to suggest that the unassuming man is a veteran. The sublime art works displayed in the booth assigned to Mydrim Gallery of Lagos, Nigeria, in the Modern section of Art Dubai, 2015, belonged to Bruce Onobrakpeya, the man who was awarded the living human treasure award by UNESCO in 2006. The past lives with him in the form of history and experience with which he has paved the way for the future of Nigerian Art.
One of the foremost West African artists, the 83-year-old stood at the booth happily talking to visitors from all over the world but with Indians he has a distinct connect.
The legendary Nigerian artist won a prize at the 5th Indian Triennale in 1982, an achievement he values to date. “Do you still have that triennale,” he asks me with his smile reaching the eyes. And upon learning that the big ticket international art exposition in India hasn’t taken place in some years and is being revived, the artist seems a tad disappointed. A plastocast, “The Last Supper”, the technique of low relief art he developed from bronze lino relief technique, won him a prize and he remembers meeting the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
“I remember we got delayed in reaching the airport as there was a cow on the road. It wouldn’t get up,” recalls the artist adding that he met artists from Germany, Iraq, England and several other countries during the visit.
“It is an Indian, Kavita Chellaram, who is now pushing Nigerian art through her auction house Arthouse Contemporary. These auctions have upgraded Nigerian art because there was no way of assessing the art work.”
Nigerian art, according to him, is blooming and it has got to do with the efforts of artists like him. For 17 years, he has been running Harmattan workshop in his village which help 80 people hone their art and craft skills. “I studied painting but it was later I found out that my heart lies in printmaking. These workshops are meant for people to realise what are they good at and then pursue that. So there are people who come from art institutions, there are artists, professors who attend these workshops. People learn to appreciate art. There is the 17th workshop on in the village right now,” says the artist who largely funds the workshop himself except for a few donations by individuals.
The most significant contribution of the Harmattan workshop has been its influence over the teaching of African art in the West. “Professors and scholars teaching African art in various western institutions come to us where we show them contemporary African art and not the traditional African art. Unlike what the West believes, African art is not about folk culture anymore, it is very alive to what is happening today.”
A teacher for 23 years, Bruce says the world of printmaking offers one the scope for experimenting which he did. In 1967, he innovated with plastograph — an engraving on a low relief surface made of zinc and printed in intaglio style. Bronzed lino relief, plastocast relief, metal foil deep etching, metal point relief print and even an artistic writing style Ibiebe are some of the few experiments of the artist. The younger generation of artists following his style is said to belong to Onobrakpeya School.
He says, like Indian art, Nigerian art too has witnessed evolution. Soon after Nigeria gained Independence from the British in 1960, in the Nigerian art world was born Zaria Art Society or Zaria Rebels as they came to be known as, which gave birth to the synthesis philosophy. “They went back to the traditions, the folk culture of Nigeria and blended it with what was happening around. India has a longer history of contemporary art than Nigeria but still it has been seen an interesting journey but scholars haven’t really documented it or analysed it till now,” observes the artist.
