Ghariokwu Lemi (Nigerian, born 1955) is in the collection of MoMA, New York.
Anoda Sistem, 2002 , collection MoMA.
COVER KING
The completely self-taught “Lagos Afro-pop art exponent/Afro-visionary artist” gained worldwide fame as the designer of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti’s album covers; and between 1974 and 1993, he produced 26 of those, apart from hundreds of covers for musicians like Bob Marley, Kris Okotie, Osita Osadebe, James Iroha, Gilles Peterson, Miriam Makeba, and Lucky Dube. In addition, for about a decade, from the early 1980s he was a consulting album cover designer for Polygram Records in Nigeria, designing more than 2000 covers for them.
Confusion Break Bone, 1990.
AFRO POP ART
The overriding focus of the new set of works, is a celebration of black heroes. I’m a pan-Africanist, so I’m interested in any progress that is relevant for the so-called Blackman. So, I am interested in celebrating our positive attributes. Which explains why many of the pieces focus on two black heroes who have caught the attention of the world in arguably unprecedented ways: Barack Obama and Michael Jackson.
And then of course, there s Fela. One of the works, titled “Ah-Free-Can”; shows Fela, his trademark wrap of ganja between his lips, framed by the index and middle fingers of his left hand, which form a conspicuous V-sign. But it is not a painting, it is digital art. I take a picture and break it down digitally and then start to colour it; Lemi explains.
Fela Kalakuta-Diaries.
The minimalism stands out. The images for which Lemi made his name are typically done in full, riotous colour; heavy on slogans and realist in expression. The Fela album covers, for example, are visual replications of the wild energy of Fela’s sound. But this new phase of Lemi Ghariokwu is marked by its muted colours, the contemplativeness of its characters (Obama, Jackson, Fela), its contemplation-inducing mood and above all, its heavy symbolism. And the medium, the canvas, is the plastic sheets popularly used by sign writers in advertising.
Afrologic War, 2007.
Mandela Mantra, 2014.
Fela Version, 2014.
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