‘Cassava is my raw material for sculpture’

Daily Trust: How long have you been working with cassava as raw material for your art? James Shuiabu: It’s an innovation which I started less than five years ago. I am introducing a raw material which is known as food in the country. We made art works such as beads and craft works using cassava. […]

Daily Trust: How long have you been working with cassava as raw material for your art?
James Shuiabu: It’s an innovation which I started less than five years ago. I am introducing a raw material which is known as food in the country. We made art works such as beads and craft works using cassava. If you look around, most of the art works you see are made from cassava. 

DT: Why did you decide to use cassava?
Shuiabu: As an artist, we research and every day we try to bring new ideas into the industry. Using cassava powder is unique because no artist in this country has tried to use it. When we tried it we saw the outcome and were encouraged to continue.

DT: Where do you get the cassava from and what is the process of making it into powder?
Shuiabu: Cassava is everywhere in this country. We also get it from farmers and market at cheaper rates. I also plant cassava on my farm. I harvest, dry and grind it into powder.

DT: Is it the tuber alone you grind into powder?
Shuiabu: No, you have to peel it and then make it in form of powder like is used for ‘amala’ and then dry it.  The starch extract from the raw cassava is fermented and used as a binder for the paste.

DT: How do you create the colour?
Shuiabu: If you want it in colour you can use poster colour. Any colour you want to use, you just add a little and mould what you want.

DT: How are you able to sell this innovation so that more people get involved in it?
Shuiabu: People are always excited when they see the product. There is no stress in it and the paste responds the way you mould it. It is more usable than cement and clay and is friendly to the hands. It does not have any effect. It can even be eaten.

DT: How do you protect them from insects and even water?
Shuiabu: The art works from it are water proof. We don’t fire them. After production, even if we don’t use anything in the form of protection, it dries up and dries as hard as rock. In some cases we use lacquer vanish to further treat it and give it a glossy look.

DT: You also make jewellery out of the cassava; won’t they be ruined by sweat?
Shuiabu: No, they aren’t finished yet. We are still embellishing them and will treat them afterwards.

DT: Of all the items you make out of cassava, which is the most selling?
Shuiabu: They all sell very fast. The works are very interesting in the eyes of public because we see the reactions of people over the works and they also patronize us. We have exhibited at various expos in Nigeria and the reaction has also been motivating.

DT: In business terms, how much investment do you need to start off?
Shuiabu: It is relative. But what I can say is that as a trained sculptor, using cassava as raw material is by far cheaper than other art materials. The cost of production is very minimal compared to cement, fibre glass and even wood. That is why I can say that what we are doing is a form of research which isn’t fixed and goes along with the art itself. It is impossible to do art without research.