Lagos — The issues of life in Nigeria, especially as they affect the commoner have now secured the inventive support of the art world. In the past, the late king of Afrobeat, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, through music tried to draw the attention of the government and even the global community to the ever increasing rate of issues like water supply, bad roads and indeed bad government in the society.

Over the centuries, since the creation of man, a select few of extremely gifted people have captured moment frozen in time. From cave, stone images, Egyptian recordings documented on stones in the great pyramids to modern contemporary art, artists from time to time have captured a variety of sequential moments, history, cultures and ways of lives of people of diverse background, language, terrain and beliefs. Using various media of expression like stone, wood, charcoal, pencil, oil, bones, bronze, brass, clay, water colour etc, events are captured in time for generations yet unborn to relive.

In Nigeria, though the battle for better standards of living has been taken through different channels to no avail. Using art to address what he terms 'national issues' is no other person than veteran artist, Ini Brown.

In his new series titled Rhythm of Life: The Heartbeat of the Nation, Brown, using the strokes of the brush in a medium known and mastered by him, watercolour, captures the everyday lives of Nigerians within the diversity of its environment.

Unarguably, one of the most versatile and prolific water colourist in recent times to have graced the art scene in Nigeria, Brown's creativity, ingenuity and dexterity with the watercolour as well as his unique technique in the dramatic use, the medium is commendable.

In the ongoing series, Brown in his own way, has vastly explored the people and landscape of Nigeria from north to east, west to south, while drawing his inspiration from the daily life and struggle of a people brought together by destiny and circumstance.

With works like Abundance (a country blessed with natural resources, both agricultural and mineral resources) and Water Wahala (suffering in the midst of plenty), the artists tries to juxtapose the different strokes of hardship that has continued to plague Nigerians with the loads of wealth that can be found within the country, but which, he says, circulates only among a selected few. He also tries to reflect the day to day life, aspirations, hope, struggle and despair of the people.

On his medium of expression, watercolour, Brown explains that he has experimented in various media ranging from oil, watercolour, pastel, charcoal, enamels, sometimes choosing a medium that satisfies my expressive needs. "Within the last four years, I have zeroed down to watercolour as my favourite. For me, watercolour is now a passion. The freedom and spontaneity of the medium, coupled with its translucency and fluidity provides ample expressive opportunities for me. It is something that I have settled for overtime as an artist. I majored in Painting. I paint all kinds of medium from oil to acrylic so with time, I found out that I transformed to watercolour."

He explains his journey into the world of watercolour, saying it started during his stay in England. "I got close to a master, who is very good with watercolour. So, I started getting more interested in it. Watercolour is a very special medium. It is very unique and very difficult, so the more I got used to it, the more interested I became in it. It is the most difficult painting medium."

He also throws light to the content of his works saying "most of my art is representational. I am a kind of an impressionist. My style is filled with light and colour. Though my lines are naturalistic, my colours are very symbolic, expressing feelings and emotions. I like the Hellenistic. Few of my works are non-representational as I sometimes interplay just shapes and colours."

The themes and subject matters touch by Rhythm of Life: The Heartbeat of a Nation are wide and have varied overtime though the artist tries to mirror everyday life and nature as well as the daily existence of rural dwellers especially little moments of their everyday life.

"In my works, I capture the fleeting experiences that last for an instant and then are gone, transitory moods or moments and sometimes, the essence rather than the detail. I have a fascination for capturing the transitory effects of light and changing patterns in the sky."

The artist explains that the exhibition which runs from February 27 to March 20 was borne out of the present turbulence that has always existed in the country. "I just felt that at this time, I should do something that touches the different aspects of our national life. One of the works has to do with the 'Gwari Women,' but in the real light, it is all about everyday life."

To get a full grasp of the reality of the situation, he further explains that we really have to see it from different aspects of Nigerian sceneries. "It is different from certain things I have done in the past and what I am doing right now. Right now, I am working on a series, which I call Encounter with Nature. It is more about nature, but this present one talks more about the different aspects of everyday life."

Getting the different works that make up the series was no easy ride as Brown admits that it took him over a year to finally finish the works. "Putting the works together took a while. I didn't really time it, but I know it took me over a year, because sensitive issues had to be addressed by the collection of works."

The daily struggle of Nigerians, especially those domiciled in Lagos, is better reflected in the works Oshodi and Endless Line. Both works portray, in bright colours, not just the traffic situation, but also the lack of proper transportation, bad roads, improper housing system as well as the poor state of hygiene in the markets.

For the artist, Rhythm Of Life: The Heartbeat Of A Nation serves not only as an opportunity to discuss and reassess his works, but also the result of a search for the ultimate perfection in a dynamic environment, where the element of arts can be approached in an intellectual order, while giving value to his aesthetic appreciation. This stems from hope, which he reflects on in Endurance. "Endurance reflects hope. It is hope at the end of the day. If we endure, there is hope that things will eventually get better. There is light coming out of the dark. There is always light at the end of the tunnel. If we endure, we work hard, at the end we burst out in light with happiness. The colours have to do with hope. The white colour in the work reflects light at the end of the dark tunnel."