Art can stimulate thought and reason, ideas, emotions, and feelings. All these and much more come into play when one sets the eye on the latest works of Suraj Adekola titled ‘We Should All Be Blacks’. A very talented artist with eyes for the big league, Suraj, who has just completed his MA degree in Contemporary Fine Arts from the University of Salford, United Kingdom, uses his works to convey a feeling of Pan-Africanism and wholesomeness of the Blackman. While holding to his African identity in a highly westernized world, Suraj in his works, convey a feeling of strength and patriotism; that there are so many possibilities, so many outstanding stories to tell of the Black man and that the latter must never be afraid to rise tall and be counted for who he is and what he believes in. Using himself as an example, he believes strongly that being black in a white-dominated environment should not necessarily be an excuse to deny one’s heritage, culture, and tradition. On the contrary, it should be an opportunity to stand up and be counted as a true and proud African who has so much to contribute to the advancement of humanity.
This, he has displayed in his work, ‘We Should All Be Blacks’, makes use of African indigenous fabric to convey a message of hope for humanity. In trying to depict the beauty of the black man, Suraj utilizes contemporary forms of art such as painting, installation, and drawing as a visual response to display his creative identity in a foreign setting, foster cultural diversity, economic growth, and a sense of unity in a western environment. This artwork’s unique exhibition not only questions how people perceive and see art, but also how they are portrayed. For instance, in the work under review, the artist uses stitches of multi-coloured indigo tie/dye fabric (Adire) to create a multiplicity of humanity in the abstract. Knowing full well that sports are one area where blacks excel on global platforms, the artist uses football jerseys sewn into the Adire fabrics to convey the right feelings of strength and accomplishments associated with black sportsmen. It also suggests the aspiration of Black children to excel in the sporting arena like their forbearers. A major source of beauty for Suraj’s work is the use of the Adire fabric as the centerpiece of his delivery which he also uses as the background. This portrays him as one who is proud of his identity as a Nigerian of Egba heritage and one who is willing to showcase his ancestry to the global community through his works.
