A look at Adekola’s ‘Pret a Installer’

If you were at 57B Bishop Oluwole Street, Victoria Island, Lagos over the weekend, you will be thrilled by the creativity on display.

The private residence in a peaceful corner of the ever-busy Victoria Island hosted the public and lovers of visual art in a three-day exhibition where Ade Adekola, a photographer and conceptual artist, presented ‘Pret a Installer’, a collection of fine art photography.

Of course, Arthur Mbanefo, Nigeria’s former Ambassador to the United Nations, who hosted the VIP Preview of the exhibition on July 11, 2014, was more than impressed by the creativity Adekola showcased through his photography. For him, the works on display were not mere photography.

“This is more than photo exhibition because I have consistently in the past five-six years tried to find out what actually drives Ade’s work. He is basically an architect and my understanding of architecture is that it deals with straight lines and few curves, but having an eye for artists like this is something I find quite intriguing”, Mbanefo said.

Aptly tagged ‘Pret a Installer’, the collection of fine art photography revealed how Ade Adekola captures images with a particular emphasis on looking beyond what the normal eyes would register, the artworks often pose philosophical questions about identity, geography and culture.

Looking at the works, it takes only an artistic mind to appreciate how Adekola uses perceptions as interplay, to trigger associative memories, to tease the mind and invite viewers to engage, as a means of reflecting on their own lives and that of the society in which they live.

Using juxtapositions and often pairing distant cultural environments Adekola creates a dichotomy that makes for visually striking images. Street environment and architectural landmarks highlight a myriad of global differences and complexities; the resulting work is compelling and pulls the viewer into the image.

Of course, if you were told that Adekola’s works beautifully capture transitory scenes that the ordinary passer-by may fail to register, those who were at the exhibition witnessed it. Beyond that, his works ask questions about identity, culture and the social zeitgeist.

“What l, try to do is to change people’s perception about photographs. What inspires me is to offer visual imageries in a way that makes you change your perception. If I make you change your perception, I can make you change the way you behave, the way you see things and the way you understand things”, Adekola explained.

He also uses his photography as means advocacy. “If I can make you change the way you behave through the images, hopefully one day, I can encourage people to do something positively to change the world”.

Despite the fact that there are photographs on face-book, newspapers, cell phones, and everybody is familiar with photographs, but Adekola does something to the image to arrest people’s attention.

Adekola’s inspiration looks ordinary but unique. “My inspiration comes from what happened in one ideal environment. I use my work to engage people and re-orientate their values for a better society”, he said.

Beyond the inspiration, when you look at his works, you wonder how a trained architect who never went to an art school does better in the arts than trained visual artists.

“I have been in a few exhibitions in the UK, USA, and Germany. I started painting as a hobby. I am an architect by profession. I did not go to Arts School. For me, I work with ideas. I studied philosophy and cybernetics. For me it is the ideas that I find a way to express”.

Yet, his creativity calls for the need for a group of people to re-awaken on appetites and consciousness of Arts. “And that has to be done by doing something different”, he insisted.

Even while answering Mbanefo’s request of stating what inspires him in one sentence, and in less than six words, Ade said: “You know people look at photographs in the most casual manner. And the idea, particularly the idea of the exhibition is to ensure that one is attracted to look deeper and perhaps see beyond the images to find what exactly is in the mind of the photographer”.

However, the three-day exhibition was supported by Ruinart, which as a patron of contemporary art and design, indulged visitors and art world personalities to a special treat of the original expression of the Ruinart taste with the Blanc de Blanc and Rosé champagne. Guests further enjoyed fine champagne while browsing the artworks, enhancing the total experience.

Ade Adekola’s intellectual and innovative use of moments, colours and symbols makes for a natural collaboration, linking his craft to Ruinart’s historical attachment to art.

Adekola urged art lovers who could not see his works at the exhibition to visit www.iconsofmetropolis.com to see creativity personified in his works.

OBINNA EMELIKE