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38 — Vanguard, MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2019 OSA MBONU-AMADI 08070524223 osaamadi@yahoo.com Bidemi’s recollections of his childhood environment By Osa Amadi, Arts Editor Joseph Bidemi is an impression ist whose works are heavily in fluenced by his childhood experiences, especially the story of his mother who died giving birth to him. As a result of that, he became passionate with portrayal of women’s faces in many of his paintings. He has also painted quite a number of sceneries which are memories he harbors of his childhood environment like the one used in this story. “I am an impressionist by style. My work borders on emotion. I play with colours –laying patches of colours together to create forms and images,” he says. Coming from a polygamous family, Bidemi says he experienced a lot of negative emotions when he was growing up. “It was the longest wait of my life to get liberated. By that, I mean just getting out of what I called a cage where I saw constant emotional and verbal abuse. You can imagine a father having about 13 children. “So the only way to put them under control is to verbally abuse them, to make them feel intimidated. Most fathers in polygamous homes are very hard to please. Being the last born anyway, I experienced a little bit of love and attention, even though it was a divided attention.” Bidemi’s father was a successful businessman who wanted him to be a doctor, but the boy who started drawing when he was two years old loved art. When his father saw his interest, he encouraged him to pursue his dream. Facial expressions, emotions, and body language are fa- miliar features of his works, featuring his series: “Insecure”, “Unveiled (xiv)” and “The Royal Guard”. Bidemi’s art is known for its dynamism in colour with special emphasis on portrayal of women’s faces. Women play a central role in his compositions, which also allows him to connect with everyone and everything. The artist is also greatly mused by the anthropology of emotion. He enjoys the distinct movement of the palette knife which he uses to achieve tactile realism juxtaposed with subtle lines and bold strokes of vi- brant colours. He was born and bred in Jos, Plateau, his mother’s home state. He comes from Oyo State but resides in Lagos where he is currently practising as a full-time studio artist. He graduated in 2012 from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State, with a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts, specialising in drawing and painting. Bidemi’s works are privately collected in Nigeria and internationally. He also has a couple of his works in the collection of King Mohammed VI of Morocco. Olubunmi’s new children’s book promoting hand washing habit Did you know that every year more than 60,000 children under the age of 5 die of diarrhea? (Water Aid 2018). Did you also know that many of these deaths are preventable with proper hand washing practices? The new children’s picture book by Olubunmi Aboderin Talabi, Why Do You Wash Your Hands? is targeted at promoting the importance of hand washing amongst children, parents, teachers and families. Global Hand Washing Day is usually marked in the month of October to promote the simple hygienic practice of washing hands with soap and water, in a bid to curb the spread of communicable diseases typically passed from one person to the next via hands, such as Olubunmi Aboderin Talabi chicken pox, diarrhea, and so on. According to the UNICEF, hand washing with soap has been cited as one of the most cost-effective interventions to prevent diarrhealrelated deaths and other diseases. For Talabi, this is a major reason why the book was written. “Why Do You Wash Your Hands was written for children under the age of 9. It deploys a fun and pictorial style to help children and their parents understand the importance of regular hand washing and learn the different occasions before or after which they should wash their hands” she says. She further reveals that the book is in line with the International Year of Indigenous Languages. In 2016, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming 2019 as the International Year of Indigenous Languages. This is to “raise awareness of the consequences of the endangerment of indigenous languages across the world, with an aim to establish a link between language, development, peace, and reconciliation.” “The book is not only being launched in the month of Global Hand Washing Day, but comes in a compendium version that makes it the first indigenous Nigerian children's picture book to be published simultaneously in four different languages – English, Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba,” Talabi further added. According to Clever Clogs Books, the compendium version in four languages is a limited edition, single print, collector’s item. Readers and book collectors can get their hands on it at the book launch on the 26 October 2019 in Lagos. Yusuf Abubakar’s antidote to violent extremism By Prof Muhammad K Isa The book titled “In God’s Name we Fight; embracing and renouncing violent extremism” by Yusuf Abubakar Mamud speaks to young Nigerians especially those living in Northeast Nigeria. The author used very unconventional style to narrate the story of radicalization and de-radicalization. The inherent objective of the book is to communicate to the Nigerian youth the ills of imbibing violent extremist behavior and to illustrate to the government of Nigeria and the world at large some tips useful for de-radicalization. Abubakar used a simple method to narrate the story in such a way that it will easily appeal to the average Nigerian youth who is not keen about reading nowadays. This therefore informed the size of the book which is less than 60 pages. Abubakar deliberately made the chapters very short and infused a bit of local language in the storyline in order to attract even those who are not intellectual but can read and write. It is a known fact that <strong>countries</strong> adopt different deradicalization and counter violent extremism strategies. In Nigeria, our counter violent extremism strategy is espoused in the National Action Plan for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism. The book tried to explain in loose language that these national strategies often do not help to address the pains of the victims. Instead such strategies are weaved to evolve an elitist class in the fight <strong>against</strong> violent extremism. It is obvious from the book that the author argues for a more flexible strategy of preventing and countering violent extremism that will accommodate local people as the frontline responders. The argument of the book is that violent extremists are ordinary people who may be ignorant or psychologically unstable. Their victims are the vulnerable poor women and children in local communities. The book suggests that Nigerian Government seem to busy itself with complicated intellectual analysis instead of looking at community-based strategies. The last chapter of the book is a masterly summary of the entire narrative designed primarily to capture the real message which is the need to change our strategy in preventing and countering violent extremism in Nigeria. The central theme of the message is that love, empathy and dialogue from the family, religious leaders and civil society groups would go a long way to addressing the challenges of violent extremism in Nigeria. *Prof Muhammad K Isa is of the Department of Local Government and Development Policies, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria Benin art, iconography and semiotics …exhibition opens Oct. 26 A solo travelling exhibition on Benin iconography and semiotics, Uhunmwen whe ehinmwen by Princess Theresa Oghogho Iyase- Odozi of Green House Art Empowerment Centre, in collaboration with Crowne Art Gallery will open on October 26 at The Hexagon, Crowne Art Gallery, GRA, Benin City, Edo State. Special guests of honour at the opening are Edo State Commissioner for Arts, Culture and Diaspora Affairs, Hon. Osaze Osemwengie-Ero and Enogie of Evbubanosa/ Abudu Prof Gregory I. Akenzua, The exhibition, which is a follow-up to the interactive session held in June in Lagos, was initiated by Princess Theresa Oghogho Iyase- Odozi, and focuses on Benin art, iconography and semiotics. It consists of five main components: mixedmedia paintings, art installations, textiles, an empowerment workshop and publication of an art journal. The travelling exhibition will run for four weeks before moving to Lagos and later to Abuja in 2020. According to the artist, one of the main objectives of mounting the exhibition is to honour His Royal Majesty, Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo Ewuare II, Oba of Benin, in appreciation of his commendable efforts to revitalise Benin cultural heritage and project it to the world at large. “We are also inspired by His Majesty’s plan to establish an academy for art, culture and tourism to be named the Benin Royal Academy of Performing Arts. Consequently, we would like to use the opportunity offered by this Exhibition to honour him on the occasion of his 2019 birthday celebrations. “Another key objective of the exhibition is to create awareness and publicise appropriations of the rich Benin icons found on artefacts dating as far back as the 16th Century which are now being deployed by the exhibiting artist in her endeavour to revive the waning culture of Edo batik clothing,” she said. During the exhibition, the artist will present some of her findings in visual art appropriations in the creation of her Edo batik clothing line and reveal the myths surrounding the popular Ebe Ewere leaves used during the Benin Igue Festival.
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