Peter Akinwumi is one of the few artists taking that bold steps to defy conventionalism as he sets his own goals, ideas and builds courage to run them on forms that is uniquely his creation.

In October 2013 to be precise, Nigerian born artist, Peter Akinwumi was preparing for his first solo exhibition at TerraKulture, Victoria Island Lagos with full confidence. A show that defined uniquely his style of Repousse art known as “Dot Beaten Metal Technique.” The show went well as it was successfully executed by Peter and the TerraKulture team. A year later, Peter was burying his father in Badagry, a father that took him through life odyssey. His Ghanaian mother stared at the grave of his father, tears trickling down while Peter’s younger ones rallied round their sweet mother. It was one blow that Peter himself had to take but then move on with life, yet his childhood friends and school mates at his almater didn’t abandon him as they were all present.

He is equally a known farer, being a brave personality. His greatest obsession is the romance with Repousse art that has given him a status meant for princes. He maintains being underground does not mean he is locked in a tunnel as the light continues to shine on him and the concept that is rocking the art community internationally, the Dot Beaten Metal technique. He has won the heart of collectors and clientele freedom from the several commissions for blue chips companies such as Nestle Foods Plc, more than 90% of the commissioned works done for the food and beverage firm at their corporate headquarters were actually done with the technique, either in oil painting or aluminium Repousse. What of the royal insignia of the Awujale of Ijebuland, the 100th Holding Horse in the USA, GTBank headquarters and the private collections of Jack Chagouri.

Peter Akinwumi was influenced by the culture and traditions of Bida artisans, though he was born into a family of artists. “I got introduced into the business at a very early age and I haven’t done any other business apart from art business. Despite the fact that I have other choices, but nothing could compare my love for the art. It has built my confidence to face the day to day challenges of life. I feel complete and proud being an artist,” he revealed. His motif speaks for him and the works being churned out are just sheer class! Staring at some of them such as Celebration 1 and 2, Maiden Dance, Dialogue of the Wise, The Acrobat, Victory Dance, Reflection of Passion are enough testament of what the proponent stands for. His romance with digital painting shows how one can draw inspiration and finally launch into space through innovations. Peter started his romance with digital painting from his laptop and made a success story out of it. It is often said, ‘stay in your comfort zone, and then you can never be jarred or provocative to succeed.’ Anything familiar is not creative. Peter Akinwumi belongs to the ‘A Can Do it’ class act. A confident approach has brought out such innovations like Face to Face, Survival of the Fittest, Entangled, and The Observer.

His mother’s step by step training gave the edge to rise and move. She is Ewe from Holue in the Volta region of Ghana. Peter’s mom also had her own apprenticeship from her older brother, a foremost artist and one of Ghana’s earliest art teachers at the prestigious Kwame Nkrumah University. Peter started getting acquainted in the family business by selling Terracotta miniatures aged 7 while studying at Command Secondary School, Ojo, Lagos. At secondary school through sheer providence, he met another seasoned teacher in the person of Folu Folorunso at the same time becoming a gallery rat as a visitor to some notable galleries. “I ran into art connoisseurs and their galleries in Lagos. I mean icons such as Felix Idubo, Fred Archibong, Fred Akpomuje and Songhai Heritage,” to mention but a few. Peter gained admission in 1990 to study what he loved most, Fine Art at University of Benin in Edo State, Nigeria where he graduated with distinction in sculpting in 1994. Twice, he won scholarship as he was adjudged the best art student in 1990 and ’91 respectively.

Looking at Peter’s steady rise to global recognition, it seems to be a worthwhile experience for the cerebral artist. He commented, “Honestly, I have a high sense of satisfaction. Especially, when I am able to set goals for myself and get that fulfillment, also being able to meet my clients objectives through quality exploration. My concept revolves around the day to day activities of man, irrespective of differences in culture, age, norms, and values. I strive to use my art to communicate, create a bond between me and my enthusiasts.” Peter duly appreciates venturing into a profession that hitherto was unexplored and undervalued from the commissions received so far and the caliber of clients that continue to pick and contract him for ideas.

In his characteristic element, driving around gives the cerebral artist rare opportunities to recreate and drive more on his ideas and concept. A little turn up at various events add verve to his eclectic creative system. Peter remains pretty cool about his own presence in the game. Being an apostle of a medium that is technically tasking could make the faint-hearted trip off the business slides but not Peter, as he also admits, “When I left the university, there was a need to find a medium of expression as a sculptor. Then, there were few media opened to Nigerian sculptors. Fortunately, I have been playing Repousse art that was sparingly practiced. It was not available in the school curriculum of art school in Nigeria. To compound it the more, there were no tools for it in the art market, except for works done by the renowned Olatunde Ashiru and the people of Bida, a city famous for its brasswork, glasswork, metal and cloth-weaving. Quartz is available in Bida which contributes to the production of glass. In Bida brass beating, the reliefs are very low, because they simply use hammer-in-technique without fully beating the metal spread from both surfaces.

Traditional art gave Peter Akinwumi the fillip he really need to break from the norm of being classified another stereotypical visual artist with all noise about painting. Contemporarily, he is ahead in the game being able to rethink, retool and recreate from the normal school to become an avant-garde. Peter’s style of studying local form of art still gives the African art and forms the credibility of their importance in our art and cultural ideas and ideals. The cool headed spec wearing dude explains that he gained a lot from this experience, the desired motivation to take Repousse further and properly vary the surface, concave and convex contours, to create a 3-dimensional or 2/4 feel. As it is said, ‘nothing good comes easy, this experiment took him many painstaking years to achieve, what patience? Continuous research and studio practice, he was able to modify his technique known as “Dot-Beaten Metal concept, a process that allows one to manipulate metal plate as if it were clay. “My technique simply employs Repousse and chasing with several dots from punchers of varying knives to create relief forms on metal spread. Aluminium is the most common metal I work with, because it gives a constant surface appeal; never losing its chin, I mean lustre,” he schooled one. Over the years, he has decided to include wood carvings alongside aluminium Repousse to give an African feel to his assemblage and oil paintings to enhance a 3 dimensional effect.

While still trying all the time to maneuver where to spend his night whenever he is in the city, Peter actually is based in Abeokuta, Ogun State at the moment, but gives credit to the power of the internet driven social media for access to being accepted. His international presence is very commanding, as he also admits the journey has worth its while. Despite not available on the Lagos exhibition circuit easily, Peter gains from a social influence as his clientele base is growing steadily. In fact, Peter rocks online period! The first time in October 2013, Peter decided to come out and had a ground breaking exhibition full of colours, a long awaited one. The media and enthusiasts were enthralled by the quality of presentation he gave in the evening. Though, the smooth talker had done groupies along the while, but he broke the silence as TerraKulture exhibition space was taken to another space from Repousse first time.
Story/ Ireho Aito
Images courtesy of Peter Akinwumi