Olu Amoda: How I created Dak’Art prize-winning artwork

Weekend Magazine: You recently won the grand prize for the 2014 Dak’Art Biennale. How did that make you feel?Olu Amoda: I felt elated and a sense of pride for our country that have been in the news for the wrong reasons. I felt that it high time some good news change the tide of bad […]

Weekend Magazine: You recently won the grand prize for the 2014 Dak’Art Biennale. How did that make you feel?
Olu Amoda: I felt elated and a sense of pride for our country that have been in the news for the wrong reasons. I felt that it high time some good news change the tide of bad news.
WM: When you entered for the Biennale, what were your thoughts? Did you imagine you would win?
Amoda: I have always liked to show at the Dakar Biennale and this invitation was a dream come true; winning was not in my mind; but winning was the icing in the cake.
WM: Nigeria as a country was not at the Biennale. What’s your take on this?
Amoda: The Biennale was not based on country, but I imagine you are referring to the culture ministry. I think it is sad that the ministry that is responsible for the visual art was not present when Nigeria jointly wins the first prize, not even the consulate. Other countries have their artist hosted but that was not the case for Nigeria and that was a little sad. I thought the wining would have been a catalyst for the much need a change of news for the mission.  
WM: Sunflower is a series you have been working on. Could you tell us about the materials you used and the work itself?
Amoda: Nails are used in my work as a metaphor and remain one of the most ideal and enduring pieces of engineering. Nails depend on the notion of shared responsibilities, like ants. Small but lethal, a nail is able to defend itself but yields to the will of the craftsman.
It was these qualities of nails that sparked the series of study I called the capsules series, which I began in 2006 during my residency at the Appalachian State University, Boone North Carolina USA.  The capsule series explore the migratory tendencies of made object horizontally which locations; that is export and import and the vertical, which deals with class in the society. Art now becomes the capsules in which these made objects travels. I used these found objects and repurposed in my work.
To be able to repurpose effectively and satisfactorily, I have some creative strategies that help me in articulating my ideas in concrete form. These strategies are in two distinct forms – the artistic intent and the object driven both give rise or mutate into several sub strategies:
The artistic intent, which in my view all artwork begins that is, the wish lists. These wish lists can be both internally and externally induced. Internal is the artist dream of which he will like to produce base on his skill level as informed by the experiential reference. Experiential reference is what the general society accepts as the norm. A cup is a cup because we all agree from time as cup.  Every activity must respond towards the collective desire of the unit element yarning to be part of the whole.
It is all object driven which refers to the process of repurposing based on the original shape or form of the primary use of the object. With object driven strategy, I assume both the role of the modern day archaeologist and forensic artist. With these two qualities, I as the artist could tap from the latent energy, which gives the information of level of sophistication of the society that produced such object, while the object objectifies the role it chose to play in the final manifestation as sculpture.
With strategies in mind the roofing nails, steel packing belts, and spoons fit into the narrative of the “sunflower” where my prime focus is to expose the positive side of Nigerians, Africans, and humanity as whole. These object in their first life function positively to the advancement of mankind, both as a carriage, support, and feeding. Sunflower heads consist of 1,000 to 2,000 individual flowers joined together by a receptacle base.
These numbers fit metaphorically to portraying Nigeria, Africa in general from a different lens outside the west that see Nigeria and land of corruption, war, famine and lately terrorism. The lack of projecting positive images of any country inspires negativity.  With today’s 24hour news media that believes that a story what news only if it is on negative or tragic the uninformed average person see that as their reality which in turn inform the path they travel.
WM: What gives you the most pleasure about your work?
Amoda: I enjoy it a lot when my chosen subject and work remind my audience or resonate with the subject matter and at the same time expand the vocabulary of art expression. Whether the subject is political or just for art sake offers me a platform for emotional release. If I sell it is value added.
WM: What subjects do you enjoy working on the most?
Amoda: As a cosmopolitan artist, I am inspired by contemporary events and attitudes as reported in both the print and electronic media. So the issue informs the subject; however, I enjoy using every day common objects as a metaphor while engaging serious political issues by trivializing. I enjoy my works most when they are imbued with layers of issues that are not easily discernable by my audience; thus offering the pick and choosing an option when viewing the work.    
WT: There seems to be a general perception that painting is a more prominent art form than sculpture. Do you agree with this?
Amoda: With no clear statistics out there, I would like to believe that this submission is based on art exhibitions but not on the number of sculptures/paintings in circulation. Sculptures have metamorphosed into various objects that erased the sculpture traits in the consciousness of the average collector or consumers of art.
There are other reasons for this assertion which stem from serious decline in the enrollment into sculpture program, which results in the low numbers of sculptors exhibiting. Mostly the flashy portability of paintings also accounts for these seemingly lopsided figures painting/sculpture; it is assumed that people see colours more than forms.
Besides, almost every home has a wall to hang a painting while sculpture has to struggle to displace furniture and other exotic decorative objects that have no direct subject, relevant collector. These exotic objects are sculptures but they do not count when this comparison is being conducted.
WM: If you were to start a new piece of work, what process would you go through before it finally comes to fruition?
Amoda: From my work ethic as described above, there are no linear paths as process. I dream of a subject but I have to wake up and the process begins. The object could direct and the artist becomes the driver of the vehicle of creativity.
WM: What is the feeling behind artists wanting to know where their works end up?
Amoda: I’m not one of those artists who dreams of where their work would end up. There are two approaches to where an artwork ends up and neither of them in my opinion rest with artist, when it is a commission it is site specific and the artist have respond to it. On the other hand when it is purchased by a collector the decision rests on him not the artist.
But in answering this question to reflect private or public collection, most artists will prefer the public collection to private in some instances relating to certain subject matters, on the one hand, and on the other hand private collection brings the artist to have personal affinity to the collector and collection. Subsequently the private collection acquires public notoriety as a loan to a public museum or is exhibited.  
WM: You have been described as a teacher and an artist. Which of these best describes you?
Amoda: First as an artist then teacher, they both complement each other, which makes the choice a case of reassurance.
WM: What is the most expensive work you have sold?
Amoda: Sales are not public consumption. However my work starts from N45,000.00 upwards. 
WM: Who is your most loyal client?
Amoda: Everyone that has collected me are most loyal because they do not just collect, they extend friendship which is what I treasure most.