Between 27th of March and 5th of
April, Oloko had a lovely art
exhibition of his paintings and art
works at Didi Museum. Victoria
Island. What particularly generated
interest in the exhibition was
Oloko's popularity as regards
printing on shirts T-shirts and fez a
caps. But this was a different ball
game. It was not a show off, of the
numerous shiris he had worked on,
rather it was an exhibition of the a
works he had done since he was a
toddler.
More than seventy (70) of his art
works were on display at Didi
Museum, and it must be
acknowledged that it was a perfect
place to exhibit such works. As
people from all walks of life moved
from one painting to the next
artwork, you could see the surprise
on their faces but beneath the
surprise was an eerie of confusion.
It was either they didn't understand
the object directly in front of them
or they couldn't picture the message
it was passing across. Not
understanding the motive behind
the artwork by Oloko, they simply
sighed, hissed like a snake,
shrugged their shoulders or shook
their heads and moved to the next
artwork, hoping the spirit of
understanding would show mercy
and make them fathom out the other
art works.
A couple actually stood in front of
an artwork tagged Number 71 for
about 15 minutes. They argued
about it and did not seem to come to
a conclusion on the art ork or
its intended message. A
glance at the paper guide
revealed that the title of that
particular artwork was
OLORUN and I. They looked
at themselves and realized
how far away they had been.
After some minutes, Oloko
came to the couple's rescue
and explained everything
about the artwork to them. The
only way to know they had
understood what Oloko had
just explained was the smiles
on their faces, the nodding of
their heads in
acknowledgement and as
i escape of a long
o........ k ... ay " from their lips.
That is the summary of
Oloko's artworks. His
paintings, pastel, oil on
canvas, Acrylic on paper,
plastique etc, are very unique
and stands him out. Most of
of his artworks are a reflection of
of his person-very deep, quite
abstract and characteristically
outstanding.
All the common paintings and
artworks seen around us daily
were not absent. Popular
paintings like a half-naked
lady drinking water from a
calabash or a man on a palm
of tree, tapping wine were all
missing. Rather you were
bound to see the use of old
Naira notes, torn verses of the
Bible, collection of
old pictures, use of
cowries and all other
abstract things which
are considered sacred.
The conclusion was
only a' LUNATIC '
could be this good. As
one moved from one
artwork to the other,
the paper guide
indicated the title of
the works. There was
" Peace & unity ",
" Immortality ",
Racisin & Sexism", amongst many others.
In white attire, Oloko is seen
gesticulating with the movement of
hands trying to explain one thing or the
other. But beneath the white attire is a
strong heart which has a love for art.
To Oloko, Nothing is a waste. He
collects and makes use of such things as
broken doors, spoilt bathtubs, empty
packs of fruit juice, old LP records,
cartons etc. Born about twenty eight
years ago, TAYO OLOKO graduated
from University of Lagos with a degree,
not in creative arts, dramatic arts or fine
arts, but in guidance and counseling.
According to him, he started painting
when he was about four years old and
since then he has really moved on. He
defends his art works and says it is not
as devilish or demonic as people would
want to believe but just a deep
reflection of his abstract mind. Oloko
would not like to be compared to the
Van Gogh's, the Da Vinci's and Co. but
would rather like to carve an artistic
niche for himself.
On the " sin" of tearing bible verses to
use for his works, Oloko defends
himself and says it is the state of mind
that determines what one does. He uses
the example of Moses who smashed the
slabs of the 10 commandments when
annoyed. Oloko claims he is without a
partner but disclosed that the woman
who he would love to be with must be
someone with a very deep
understanding of his abstract nature. He
hopes to become a very successful
entrepreneur and build a multi-purpose
Museum. As people left Didi Museum,
they were convinced that the myth
surrounding a GENIUS had not been
revealed and only prayed that in a
matter of time, the acclaimed
LUNATIC with an abstract mind would
have been internationally recognised.
Kunle Bello (K.B of Trybesmen)
described the exhibition of Oloko as
mind blowing, sensually African and
thought provoking, and guess nobody.