Naked Butterflies- Online Art Exhibition.

:: Alimi Adewale :: / Naked Butterflies- Online Art Exhibition

Date: 16th March – 23rd March, 2013
Venue: Online

About Exhibition
With the message from conservation leaders across the world  that the battle to save the earth will be won or lost in cities, I woke up to a heavy rain in Lagos in January which is supposed to be dry season, a clear indication of what to expect during the year. The experience is not the rain but the next day I observed different birds singing and butterflies flapping and gliding, this is a new sensory perception to me which made me realized how I have neglect nature over the years and my sensitivity to nature have dulled overtime.   In the metropolis our hustling and bustling does not give us time to appreciate these moments.

“Naked Butterflies” is  nature inspired and a conscious effort in discovering nature and connecting with it and knowing that nature can be a source of solace, healing, insight and regeneration. Whether in the wild or in an urban sprawl like Lagos or the backyard, being and communing with nature is also a source of wonder. In nature we can be inspired, recharge our batteries, get our hands dirty and engage in partnership with the elements, the awesome beauty of nature and its power.

Georg Simmel’s “The Metropolis and Mental Life” is a short work, its impact has been profound, Simmel writes

“Instead of reacting emotionally, the metropolitan type reacts primarily in a rational manner . . . Thus the reaction of the metropolitan person to those events is moved to the sphere of mental activtiy that is least sensitive and furthest removed from the depths of personality.

The social attitude of people living in cities can often be designated as one of hesitation or reluctance – an unavoidable result of building a protective organ in an effort to reduce the number of possible human interactions. This is in stark contrast to the familiarity and vibrancy that people from small-towns often greet one another, which is facilitated by years of recognition and knowledge. However, in the city, most personal encounters are fleeting and not worth a significant investment of time or emotion. “

The body of work for this exhibition is characterized by its heterogeneity of palette and genre,  there is indifference in working in abstraction, and figuration which enables a unique dialogue amid styles. In a process reminiscent of the expressionists, one method seemingly spontaneously and another playful dancing strokes which become the foundation for a bold field of color. I have never been interested in focusing on the African identity in my art, rather I have been inspired by Abstract Expressionists.

I used images primarily from newspapers, magazines, the internet, book, and film stills, in this body of work the deconstruction of the images removes bias and invites interpretation.  Occasionally I warps and reconstructs   images with thin layers of paint often section by section in an array of colors, giving the final work an abstract and ambiguous message that is left up to the interpretation of the viewer. The sections are completed methodically from top left to bottom right, giving the finished pieces a collage-like appearance.

“ The meaning must come from the seeing not the talking”
Barnett Newman 1905-1970;
Enjoy the exhibits !!!!

Alimi Adewale
Lagos Nigeria
March 2013

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