Akpokiere’s “art gallery in motion” is a unique example of public art in Lagos that uses the city’s public transportation system as its canvas. As a part of Nigeria’s 50th anniversary celebrations and the Lagos Live Arts Festival in December 2012, different drawings were plastered along the sides of Lagos city buses for the public to view, in an attempt to “take art out of the gallery into the public space and facilitate new connections between artists and the audience.”
Tiri Oladimeji’s “Iba Oluyole” outdoor sculpture went up in 1987, made of reinforced concrete. It expresses a rich tradition with pleasant aesthetics, displaying a massive, muscular, and dynamic figure. Initial controversy arose over its location — it was erected on the compound of the veteran warrior, Ogunmola, rather than that of Iba Oluyole, the former ruler of Ibadan.
Erected at Itoko Aeokuta, “Lisabi” is one of Saburi’s most outstanding works, reflecting his traditional dramatic style. “Lisabi” is a monument to the Egba warrior who fought for the freedom for the Egbas and prevented their annihilation, and Saburi uses an impressively realistic form. Almost all of his works are life size, well-proportioned, and finished properly.
Cartoonist Kenny Adamson’s “Monument to Kudirat Abiola” reflects his cartoon-figure style. The figures are drawn in his distinctive pictorial style. The sculpture is one of the few public pieces of art in Southwestern Nigeria, erected in 2004 at Seven-Up, Ikeja, in Lagos.
Dejo Akinlonu’s open-air gallery is essentially a roadside sculpture studio where everything can be viewed freely, and is often changing as Akinlonu adds more work to the existing ones. He is one of the first to establish such a studio in Nigeria, and he says he wanted a place where sculpture could be “viewed, interrogated, and appreciated freely.”
Source: BJournal.co.uk
“Unknown Corper” is Akah Bunak’s first piece made during a one-year stay in Osun State during his National Youth Service in 1992, and was extremely successful. It was this piece that inspired the state administration to commission further works from Bunak, as they were impressed by his realistic life-size works.
Rasheed Esso is a highly recognized name in Offa, Kwara State, as he is one of the most prolific artists in the area. His 1986 piece, “Okin,” meaning “ostrich,” was his first statue, and he donated it to the Offa community. He later made more pieces commissioned by the town, all of reinforced concrete. He allows the natural color of the medium he chooses to remain, lending a traditional, natural air to his work.
With his “Baba Onisekere,” Moses Akintonde reflects his often-used traditional themes of Yoruba heroes and heroines. Erected in 1991 at Ayetoro Junction in Osogbo. Akintonde, who is an indigene of Ile-Ife, has a reputation for often using Yoruba anecdotes in his pieces, and usually sets his figures in motion to increase their drama.
Tony Emordi’s 1991 “Mother and Child” was erected in front of Ayike House at the Lagos State Teaching Hospital. The work shows his ability to portray human emotions. Emordi suffered a spinal injury and is now confined to a wheelchair, unable to complete similar works, but “Mother and child” remains as one of his most touching tributes.
Adeola Balogun’s “Awolowo” is an impressive example of a robust human form draped in regal robes, a vibrant piece at Allen Junction in Ikeja, Lagos. Balogun has three major public outdoor sculpture pieces, but “Awolowo” is on one of his more recognized pieces.
