In this interview with ARUKAINO UMUKORO, Ejiro, second son of artist and sculptor, Bruce Onobrakpeya, talks about his father’s love for arts
Tell us a bit about yourself and your siblings
My name is Ejiro Onobrakpeya, second son to Bruce and Victoria Onobrakpeya. My siblings are Mudiare; Kagbare Rowland, she lives in the US with her husband; Ufuoma, he’s a lecturer in Fine Arts in Yaba College of Technology; and Metoghara Adebusuyi, she’s into advertising.
You’re an art consultant yourself….
Yes. My elder brother is also an arts consultant.
Did your dad have an influence in your choice of careers?
Yes. My dad’s works influenced us extensively because we saw the immense value it brought to the table. So, yes, he influenced us. I have a Bachelor’s degree in Banking and Finance and a Diploma in Software Development from the US. Now, I am into the arts, which is one of the major things I do. I have owned galleries and will be opening a new one in a few weeks. I’ve always been in the arts.
How was growing up like with your dad?
It was wonderful. He is a very disciplined man, a kind and loving father. He was a very busy man. He spent a lot of time experimenting and he focused a lot on his work. Sometimes, I wished he spent a little more time with us and then I used to wonder whether his work was more important than us. However, the rewards of his hardwork and dedication are evident today.
Being a busy man, how did he create time for his family?
I remember when we were kids, he will put all of us in the car; myself, my siblings and my mum, and anybody that was living with us then, and he will take us to have a beautiful lunch buffet at Eko Hotel, Federal Palace Hotel or Ikoyi Hotel; and he did that very regularly. So, that brought a kind of bonding to the family. He also took us to the bar beach. It was nice.
You talked about his influence. In what ways did he expose his children to the arts?
Art is his life and his life is arts. So, everything about him was arts. He was once an arts teacher at St Gregory’s College, Lagos, while we were growing up. But he had a studio in his house. So, when he came back from work every day, he would go to his studio and still work till very late at night. Eventually, he left the teaching practice and went into the arts full time. Then, people started working with him as apprentices to understand his work. So, the whole house was full of art works and it was not possible for one to grow in such a house without being influenced extensively by arts.
What were some of the values he taught you?
He taught us hardwork and honesty. He always said it was important for a man to have something to live for. One can’t just live for everything; one must have certain core things to live for. He was the one who really encouraged me to set off on my own, to be able to create one’s own value system, to be able to work with people and do my own stuff. He gave me an entrepreneurial upbringing. I’ve had jobs as a consultant but I’ve not really worked for anybody.
Beyond being an artist, painter and sculptor, how would you describe your father?
First of all, he is a very responsible person. So, he took very seriously his responsibilities to his family and extended family. We went to some of the best schools, we never lacked at all. There was never a time that we complained there was no food. He is also a very honest man. He has many good parts, although he is not perfect. I’ll say he spends a lot of time with his work.
I try to look for a bad part of him, but I can’t find any. Sometimes, he may have a temper, which may come with the terrain. But with time, all that went away.
How did he discipline his children when they erred?
Of course, he would spank us when necessary and he would always tell us why he spanked us. He also let us understand why we should take certain things more seriously, why we should be more responsible and do things that will add value to us and our immediate environment. He was a disciplinarian. So, we did not grow up as spoilt children, but as children of a responsible man working and making a living from what he could create.
Your dad’s work is said to be full of mythology and magic realism. What is his religious belief?
His art is representative of a lot of traditional values. What is very important is the fact that my father’s works take us back to who we really are. We are traditional people and our traditional values, even though they are being eroded today, are still very important. He has embraced Christianity, but he hasn’t lost touch with the traditionalism that is part of our lives. In fact, his ideology is to marry both and create a better individual and society.
How does he react whenever he is angry?
He gets angry like every other human being. Maybe he would shout or talk a little loud when he is angry. That’s how he would react. He’s a very passionate person and he likes to drive his point home. But he is a very fair person.
Can you recollect the first time you went with him to an exhibition?
The first time I went with him to an exhibition was the one which he had, I think it was in 1974 or 1975, at the Goethe Institut, Lagos. It was a beautiful thing to know that people appreciated the efforts he made. It was also a wonderful thing that he was the centre of attraction. It was also very important that we saw the processes that brought about the art works that were eventually displayed and sold at the exhibition.
Being one of those said to have defined contemporary arts in Nigeria, where do you think your father’s place in the history of arts in Nigeria would be?
I think he would be described as one of the most important things that happened to African arts. I am one of his greatest fans. I have seen the processes under which he has created those works. He has defined arts in a very unique way. He has used motifs, colours, and figures, to describe who we are and thus, giving us an identity. That identity is what he has given to African arts. Like I said, he would be described as a very important landmark in the history of African arts.
Bruce Onobrakpeya is extensively an experimentalist. He is very restless as an artist. He will see a material and use the same idea to express himself in different materials. So, he’s definitely not limited to any medium. He’s a sculptor, printmaker, fabric designer, he has cut across and there are no limitations for him. He broke down all the boundaries that sometimes limit artists.
Your father designed art works for the likes of Chinua Achebe, Cyprian Ekwensi, as well as Prof. Wole Soyinka and D.O. Fagunwa’s Forest of a Thousand Daemons. Who are some of his contemporaries?
Interestingly, his closest friends are his friends in the arts. He’s not a great socialite, but he has cultivated very good friendships over the years. Some of his friends and colleagues include Uche Okeke and Demas Nwoko; they have been friends since his days in Zaria. There is also Yusuf Grillo, Prof. Wole Soyinka, they’ve done a lot of work together, and of course, Chinua Achebe and Cyprian Ekwensi. He has had very strong bonds with these people and has been able to express their ideas through his arts. Also, some of his very famous friends are his art collectors who, for one reason or the other, have become part and parcel of his life.
Do you think your father’s works have been given enough recognition in the country?
I think the appreciation is coming and more will still come. The Presidency under Obasanjo honoured him with an award of the Member of the Order of the Federal Republic. The University of Ibadan has awarded him an honorary PhD. Several institutions all over the world have honoured him. But I think that for people in the arts, music and literature, the appreciation of them really mature when they have passed on. Then they become the true legends. I think the celebration of Bruce Onobrakpeya is a present and continuous thing, and more people will still appreciate him.
One of your dad’s works sold for a record N9.2million. How did that singular transaction change the perception of arts as a profession in Nigeria?
For a long time, people have looked down on arts as a profession. I know of families that didn’t want their children to become artists because they think that artists cannot make a proper living. But today, things have changed. Look at me, the son of an artist, I can drive a fairly reasonable car. Arts is an important aspect of our economy at the moment. It is also a very important aspect of our tourism, because arts define the people. For example, when people come to Nigeria, they want something to take away to remind them of the arts. In most auctions around the world, art works are attracting high dollars. So, the artist is no longer a poor man. But one must grow into that phase stage by stage.
Would you encourage your children to become artists?
Most definitely, but it is also important to have a balanced view of other fields. I’ll tell you how I started. I wanted to study medicine in the university, but I ended up studying chemistry. After three years, I got tired of chemistry and went to do banking and finance. So, I have an understanding of a lot of fields and I have travelled extensively. I’ve travelled with my dad to exhibitions all over the world and have a slightly broader view, more than the person that is just focused on the arts.
Apart from arts, what are your father’s other interests?
He likes collecting arts. He is a very traditional man. He likes to participate in events with his kinsmen to know what is happening with his people. But he is not a very social person.
What can you say about his relationship with your mum?
They have been married for about 50 years. In all relationships, there are challenges, but they have been able to cross the hurdles together. In fact, I’d say that my mum has given him extensive stability; she is the true muse of the artist (Onobrakpeya).
I’ve never seen my dad with any other woman, even when we travelled together abroad. It’s so amazing and I find that a very rare trait in a man that has some kind of influence, it is very rare.
He has an arts foundation, what is it about?
To a large extent, through his centre at Agbarha-Otor, in Delta State, which is also his birth-place, he has tried to give back to the society because society has given him a lot. He clearly wants the development and progress of the common man. We have built a museum there with accommodation for at least 60 people at the same time. It also has an exhibition space. People come from all over the world to experiment and work together with different media for two to four weeks, twice a year.
What does he do in his spare time?
He watches television, but not a lot. He watches the news and anything that would interest him, maybe traditional dance. He reads the newspapers also. But he spends a lot of time on his works. He does a lot of exercises. He exercises every morning. He likes writing. He does a lot of writing. He visits exhibitions.
What are some of the fondest memories you have of growing up and seeing his works?
It includes seeing him create his works. When he starts creating a piece of work and one sees it from the scratch to the end, one feels like he was part and parcel of that creativity. When we were young, sometimes, he used to tell us to pose for him. There are some interesting paintings in the house that have our postures. Many important people from all over the world came to visit him at home. I remember when the wife of a former US Vice-President, Walter Mondale, came to visit him. I also remember when (the late President of Iraq) Saddam Hussein, invited us to be his guests and we went there.
Considering what has transpired in Iraq over the years, Saddam Hussein’s ouster and death later on, does your father have any regrets about that visit?
No, he does not feel any regret. Saddam Hussein was a very passionate art collector. He had a lot of museums in Baghdad and the whole city had many huge sculptural pieces that depicted the Middle Eastern way of living.
How was the encounter with Saddam?
It was a beautiful encounter. It was actually (Gen. Sani) Abacha then that wanted to buy paintings for Saddam Hussein. When he (Saddam) heard about it, he said he wanted to meet the artist. So, we took the painting there (to Iraq) and met with him and his people. We had a wonderful two weeks. It was all about the arts and nothing else.
What is your father’s favourite food?
My dad likes bitter-leaf soup and eba.
What kind of outfit does he like wearing?
He likes wearing traditional attires generally. On some occasions, he wears the simple Niger Delta attire.
At 81, your dad still holds exhibitions. How does he do that?
You see, in the arts, music, literature, you can never retire. It’s a blessing. If you see my dad, he looks 60, because he extends his mind to the mythical world. The Bible says we are co-creators with God. Because he (my dad) is a creator, he is also refreshed. He reads a lot of books. And he’s very knowledgeable. If you ask him about any issue, his opinion may be unpopular but it may be the solution to it.
What is his daily routine like?
He wakes up in the morning, exercises and plans his day or his week, depending on what day it is. He’s a very good planner. He is very articulate with his plans and execution. He has quite a few people that work with him. A lot of young people come to him for apprenticeship and he works with and interacts with them, and you can see his influence on their works.
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