With motions and emotions, Bolaji Ogunwo projects a new Nigeria

It is the wish of every Nigerian to witness a country where development is at its peak. A country thriving economically with adequate peace and security, coupled with the abundance of the needed infrastructures to make life enjoyable.

However, these wishes have over the years seem to become impossible as things are rather getting more difficult for the people. Everyone has therefore resolved to hope that one day, the nation will reach the desired expectation.

Bolaji Ogunwo, an artiste of many years, shares similar belief that Nigeria is not finished yet but would one day become a great nation, envied by all and sundry.

With his solo exhibition titled Motions and Emotions, which runs from November 17 to 24, 2018, Ogunwo aims at creating a new perception in the minds of Nigerians.

According to him, Nigeria can be great again if the citizens employ positive emotions in their daily activities. He furthermore stated that the idea behind the exhibition, which are 58 paintings in number, is to create an aura of hope among Nigerians, to make them see the country in a new light as one that has greatness in it.

“Motions and emotions is a visual narratives interrogating my nation’s contemporary socio-economic and political trajectory. It underscores the common place actions and reactions towards the current democratic architecture. “ This art work is aimed at stimulating a contagious optimism among Nigerians. I discovered that many of us have now become pessimists, which is not good for the nation’s development. Many are of the opinion that nothing good can come out of the country, but I rebuff this claim with one of my works titled ‘All will be well’ to say that we shall soon get to the promised land.

“But for us to get to Cannan, we must develop positive emotions and motions in the right directions even in the midst of prevalent despondent atmosphere.”

The adroit artist, who marked his 40th birthday during the exhibition, said he sees a Nigeria where rule of law would be thoroughly enforced, utmost responsibility of the government to the welfare of the masses, a nation devoid of criminal activities and one that would have all the desired infrastructure put in place.

“As a creative seer, I’m still living in the hope of better times than this. I strongly believe that at the end, all will be well, it doesn’t seem well presently, invariably, this is not the end. As enshrined in our national anthem, there lies a great and lofty height to attain where justice and peace shall reign.”

Via the lens of my palette, I lucidly perceive a ray of hope shining through, leading to a place called ‘there’“At 40, I want to start seeing a new Nigeria, where security of lives and properties is given the needed attention.

On whether his vision with the exhibition could be fully achieved, Ogunwo, who is a lecturer of Creative Art at the University of Lagos said, “ Art is a visual language, a permanent teacher, resounding into the mind of the people. Yes, people might not understand immediately the main lesson I want to depict now, but they shall understand later. Art is an enduring medium. These works are not just for the present generations but for posterity to come, so that when they see it, they will know that someone once prophesised their present situation with wonderful paintings. I’m not making a change, I’m making a difference.”