Grillo has given different interpretations to the concept of woman and womanhood.

FUNKE OSAE-BROWN

The tail end of the popular Adeola Odeku Street, Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria was busy on a warm Saturday October evening. The frontage of the KIA showroom situated in a corner of the T-junction at the adjoining Akin Adesola street was rather too compact for the number of visitors streaming into the space that evening. It is only an exhibition of this nature that can pull this kind of crowd. It was an exhibition of the retrospective works of the famous Nigerian artist, Yusuf Grillo, organised by Arthouse The Space.

It will not be wrong to say the entire art community in Nigeria and foremost art collectors were at exhibition to see the latest works of Grillo as he nears his twilight while some other people were there to reconnect with his old works.

Walking into the large exhibition space takes me into the rare world of Grillo. By the door on the right is a line-up of his works made of stained glass, his speciality, giving the impression of paintings eternally engraved on marbles.

Kabiyesi and Olori 2012-2012 oil on canvas 136.5 x 110.5 cm

Quite poignant is his piece entitled ‘Lead Drummer’ which reinforces Grillo’s undying love for tradition and culture. It tells the story of three drummers each beating his drum with a stick called ‘gongo ilu’ in Yoruba. Slouched in different positions the drummer beat away furiously at their drums with a dexterity synonymous with their craft. Beyond the aesthetics, in this piece, Grillo celebrates the timelessness of the Yoruba traditional drum and the lives of those who specialise in the craft.

Grillo describes the piece thus: “We call it talking drum but in the hands of a Master drummer, it is as versatile as a pipe organ. The drum stick selectively hits not only the points on the circular skin, its circumference but even outside it. The muscles around the armpit, the fingers on the other hand and at rare times the thigh and knee can produce CHORDS, TREMOLO and STACCATO.”

His love for the Yoruba culture is also taken further with his piece ‘Kabiyesi and Olori’. Through this piece, Grillo celebrates his noble birth into a royal family. This work is rendered in both oil and stained glass. The element of the design is perhaps the most important nonverbal code used by the artist to achieve a very sophisticated character and rendition of his idea. The seemingly elongated figure in the work tends to take after his personal stature while his wife’s physiognomy is visible in the female figure. This will later provide a model for Grillo’s subsequent works.

This brings one to another thematic preoccupation of his work— celebration of women. Call him an artist who gives prominent roles to women in his works and you won’t be wrong. Severally, Grillo has given different interpretations to the concept of woman and womanhood. In his works, he has celebrated the woman as a strong support to the man as one could see in the piece ‘Kabiyesi and Olori’. There is also the interpretation of the woman as an indispensable force in marriage while highlighting the plight of widows, as depicted by his work ‘Opo-Don’t Pick Any Mum’, a painting on canvass. The painting on canvas tells the plight of a widow and her daughter who are at a crossroad in making a good choice among the three calabashes left behind by her late husband’s relatives. Grillo brings his dexterity on the brush to fore as he is able to capture the confusion on the face of the widow through his use of colour blue.

Oba Dauda 2014-2015, oil on canvas, 153 x 92 cm

Furthermore, Grillo could be satirical with his paintings. His use of satire is shown in his work ‘Oba Dauda’ (King David). It is a satirical rendition of the corruption, fraud and lack of moral value that is sweeping over the city of Abuja, Nigeria’s capital. He drives home his message through an elongated figure of the king and use of red colour a symbol of the rot that has consumed the seat of power.

In all, ‘Igi Araba’ is a great way to bring out both the old and new works of Grillo whose last solo exhibition was 40 years ago. “As one of Nigeria’s legendary master artists, Yusuf Grillo has led a prolific career that has shaped the discourse of modern art in the country. This exhibition is the culmination of lengthy discussions with Grillo over the last two years in developing this project,” says Kavita Chellarams, CEO, Arthouse Contemporary Ltd.