Adeola Balogun|Man and the Falcon’s Benevolence (Part 1)

This is a five-part interview of one of Africa’s avant-garde artists.

iBAND, is meeting Africa’s many creative talents and business men in the field of art and design, in an up, close and personal, as they are the real heroes of preserving and promoting African tradition through their beautiful and iconic innovations. Africa is the best place among the continents.

Adeola Balogun in an exclusive interview opened up what we need to know about his foray and sojourn in the art business

“I actually started my studio in Ketu and you know the way it is, the role of space in every artist life. The particular apartment was a rented one, then, you also have to start imagining the loggerhead and confrontation from the owner of the house, I mean the Landlord. The Nigerian landlord as we all know, especially, in Lagos is a cantankerous personality, you hardly can predict him.”

“Ayobola Street?! I know the place! Let me give you the description of how to get there” retorted a motorcyclist who plies his bike as a means of livelihood in Adura community, a semi-urban settlement in Alagbado, one of the outskirts of Lagos. This community is where established artist, sculptor, teacher and environmentalist, Adeola Balogun lives. Motorcyclists and their motorbikes keep screeching so fast, one after the other, every rider is so aggressive and a risk taker to earn quick bucks before the Muslim prayer call time.

The environment is a quiet one for creative minds to hide, as echoes of people in a chit-chatter could be heard afar off. Though not a tarred road but the network of roads is motor – friendly, yet, on a rainy day, some of the roads could be messy.

House No 11, stands gigantic in the midst of a well layout street in a creamy colour. This is the place where the artist and a descendant of war generals, Adeola Balogun hides and evolves those wonderful experimentations all the time. He is always very busy, he had confessed to this reporter few years ago that he felt like hiring a driver to ease him off his tight schedules. “I have been in my study since 4am, trying to clear some of the backlogs of work on my desk. An artist coven is always different from everyone in his environment. He has invested wisely, despite, being a home-grown native of the place. His ancestors are real fighters and winners. Adeola is a man of the people.

Environment and Space

Some peculiar observations are noticeable in the house such as the doors and their patterns. The designs resonate some of the exhibited works from the Ants and Giants show, he held sometime in 2011, at the Quintessence gallery in Lagos. Another observation is the height of the doors. They are Trojan-like, higher than the Golan Height in Syria. A solid duplex and tastefully furnished with the artist’s works strategically arranged as part of the interior decoration.

Art oozes from every corner of the home made from heaven. “I actually started my studio in Ketu and you know the way it is, the role of space in every artist life. The particular apartment was a rented one, then, you also have to start imagining the loggerhead and confrontation from the owner of the house, I mean the Landlord. The Nigerian landlord as we all know, especially in Lagos is a cantankerous personality, you hardly can predict him.” He enthuses further, “questions always arise such as ‘“Mr Man, what are you turning my house into? Please, this is not a welder’s shop, I hope you know that?”’

Such comments certainly drain the creativity in individuals with abundance of talent. “I started investing my time, energy and resources to get a place of my own. Due to the ideas and long term dreams, I started investing in this project. This place is simple but well managed. I told my Architect what I wanted and we worked on the design together, being an artist myself. It was a memorable experience for me. I run the studio at the back of the house. I have studio assistants and interns working with me. We move the game together here. We requested for some space and we got it. It’s one of many life’s lessons for me that if you desire something great to bring out the best in you, then, put all efforts to get what you want to suit your needs. Due to negligence, we seem to forget that the body mechanism also have a special attachment to richness of the mind. A good atmosphere brings incredible creative outputs in humans, he concluded.”

Adeola Balogun as an artist needs little or no introduction in the visual art environment. For someone who grew up in a home and among the people who are known for their metal artisanship.

He remembers his first art teacher in school, who gave him the assurance and conviction of where the young Adeola belongs, “Uncle Bola was my art teacher in my secondary school and he nurtured my naivety to bravery and was able to convince my family how I should be managed. He persuaded me to study art related courses, because he believed that I will surely do well in such area.”

Since then, the family contributed to the young artist development with countless prizes to show for his resilience. Adeola was carting away top prizes in art competitions.
He is a moving train and his works and career life as an artist, sculptor and teacher cannot be undermined.

The artist public commissions are so impressive and the works are scattered massively and lavishly all over Lagos. Check out the impressive list, the statue of Funso Williams, standing majestically at the Funso Williams Avenue, Lagos. Recently, the Lagos state government has demolished the renowned statue of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, on Allen Avenue Roundabout, Ikeja to urban development purposes and the statue of Brigadier Samuel Ademulegun in Ondo State. Worthy of note is Madam Efunroye Tinubu’s bust situated at the Union Bank foyer, Marina. The Ijamido statue and fountain, Osi quarters in Ota, Ogun State is also one of the public projects of the great and hard working artist who started winning awards in 1992 at the Card Award for Best Life Drawing Student in Nigeria.

To be continued

Interview /Ireho Aito/Artworks /photography /Adeola Balogun