Peju storms the scene with Aramada
BY GREGORY AUSTIN NWAKUNOR
IN D.O. Fagunwa's Ogboju Ode Ninu Igbo Irunmale, Aramada is the enigmatic, weird character,who blows hot and cold, depending on the people around him. But Peju Alatise is not such a character. She could be also. She's a flush with new ideas, and you can't blame her for this.
The graduate of Architecture from Ladoke Akintola University, Ogbomoso, understands as much, which suggests her marriage of two worlds — art and architecture to give the aramada feeling..
Walk down a street in any part of the world and you'll see the evidence of the new world culture: globalisation and fleeting new ideas. The need to offer other attractive service has seeped into modern lexicon.
From May 5, her new show will explore how her new thinking absorbs outside force and adapts to the new global ideas. Titled Aramada Spectacular: The Art in Function. The Function in Art, it is going to be an exhibit of eclectic paintings and sculptural pieces designed for functional purposes. The exhibits highlight the fluid, timeless nature of functional wares.
According to Alatise, "our intent is to unite striking forms and simple materials in an ensemble that enhances an environment, with distinct character and grace."
She says, "as an artist, I have grown to perceive things differently. A discarded piece of wood to my perception could become a counter-top for a console table. A little round bead could become part of a grandiose armchair. A simple word can help tell an inspirational tale. As long as I understand the object to represent a medium in Art, there are no impossibilities!"
Alatise continues, "as an architect, I am trained to be disciplined and focused. There are rules and only when you understand these rules can you break them. There are boundaries not for limitations but for purpose. Everything must work! Yes it is beautiful. But it must work!"
Alatise, who is one of the lighting rods of the new generation of artists in Nigeria, admits that she is compelled to create objects of attractiveness and nobility, "but it must work."
She insists, 'Art in Function and Function in Art ' best say the eclectic nature of the works she is going to parade at the show.
In her words, "these influences, I must not abandon. Not even one for the other. I work with my experiences and I am some what creative in rendering these works. And my mother exclaims, Aramada I am hopeful I have made a spectacle of my works."
From a young age, the Ijebu-born artist knew what it was to have a conflict of interest. She had thought of a course in the humanities, but this was not to be as her father wanted her to be an architect. The clash of interest led her to study architecture at the expense of Fine Arts, which she had love and passion for.
After graduation, the need to take her future in her hands stared her, and she wondered how to continue with her discipline or to build a new career. She eventually opted for a new life outside architecture, and she became a furniture maker. This again brought about another clash with her father.
To raise finance for her furniture work, she began painting. She had said in an earlier interview with The Guardian, "when I couldn't get money from my dad to go into furniture making, I went back to painting, which I sold to make money."
From then on, she has continued to paint her way to relevance. In 2006, she wrote a ground-breaking novel, Orita Meta: The Crossroads, a novel that paints feminism against the background of African folklore and Christian doctrine to prescribe an emergent African and black people’s consciousness.