O Yemi Tubi (MOYAT)
Biography
I am a Nigerian-born, American-trained Artist, currently residing in the United Kingdom as an artist with a unique personal style. Most of my recent paintings were influenced by the political and social upheaval of our world today and the works of Renaissance artists.
“A work of art which did not begin in emotion is not art” so said Paul Cezanne; I was moved by emotion to do most of my political and socially influenced paintings “THE EAGLE HAS LANDED” was done to speak about the American-led war on terror. My painting “THE BLEEDING ROSE” was done in solidarity with Christians beheaded by ISIS in Iraq and Syria. I used my paintings “AFRICAN’T”, “HUNGER IN THE LAND OF PLENTY” and “OIL: AFRICANS’ WEALTH AND WOE” to speak about the exploitation of African nations. The Painting depicts paradoxical poverty and the riches of Africa. my work, “THE FISHERS OF MEN” is about the horror of refugees drowning in the Mediterranean Sea. I also used my painting – “UKRAINE: THE UNFORTUNATE BRIDE” to speak about America and Russia-influenced war in Ukraine.
I desire my portrait paintings to be uniquely creative. I do not copy images from pictures. I create what the camera cannot create. I use portrait paintings to tell the stories about my subjects and often use my subjects’ professions to create their portraits as I did with the portrait of Professor Wole Soyinka, 1986 Nobel Prize Winner in Literature in painting “SOYINKA: An Africans’ Literary Icon”, I used artist materials to create my painting “PORTRAIT OF AN ARTIST” and I used the violin to create the face of my subject in the “THE VIOLINIST”
My works progress from political paintings to paintings of the facts of life of people.
The theme of my works, in general, is "The Facts of Life: Roses and Thorns." Life is roses and thorns; sometimes it emanates the sweet aroma of pleasantness and sometimes it pricks and causes pains. I often use Roses and Thorns for portrait paintings of the facts of life of people. I first used Roses and Thorns in my political painting “THE BLEEDING ROSES.” Since then I have adopted this floral iconography style - Roses and Thorns as my unique style in some of my paintings like “DOMESTIC ABUSE”, and “MY MOTHER, Her Majesty Platinum Jubilee: Her Rosy Reign” to name a few. Roses are for achievements and other positive parts of life and Thorns are for painful challenges and negative parts of life.
What’s your background?
I am a Nigerian-born, American-trained Artist, currently residing in the United Kingdom as an artist with a unique personal style. Most of my recent paintings were influenced by the political and social upheaval of our world today and the works of Renaissance artists.
What does it mean to you to win the Collectors Art Prize?
Winning Collectors Art Prize is a great boost to my moral and an encouragement for me to do more awards winning work of art. It is also good for my CV, and it is good for my professional publicity. It can also enhance the sales of my works as art collectors often like to acquire the works of award-winning artists.
What do you think is the role of art in the world today?
Like every other media, the role of the artist is to use his or her works to educate and enlighten the society. We do not live in a perfect world. There are lots of things wrong in our world. Artist should use his or her works to passionately advocate for change in our world of crisis. I often say that arts should not just be for decoration but should also evoke emotions and feelings. This is what moved me to use my painting “Arab Revolution” to speak about Arab Spring that started in 2011 and my work “The Eagle has Landed” was about American led “war on terror”. Looking at the fast wealth of the continent of Africa and wondered why many Africans are living in abject poverty. This made me to do some of paintings about African’s issues like “OIL: Africans’ Wealth and Woe” and “Hunger in the Land of Plenty”. I do not like how other nations are literarily taking foods out of the mouths of Africans by stealing Africans’ resources and businesses with the help of some African corrupt leaders this made me do my painting “AFRICAN’T: (Africans cannot say no to exploitations)”. “UKRAINE: The Unfortunate Bride” is the piece that I was emotionally moved to create by the horror of death and destruction caused by the Putin’s war on the people of Ukraine that was started in 2014 with the annexation of Crimea by Russia. With most of my works, I try to advocate a better treatment for women in the world in which women are often abused and killed. The killing of Sarah Everard by a British police in uniform provoked me to paint “The PREDATORS: Women Lives Matter”. “The Broken Liberty” was done to speak about the killings of African Americans by the American Police officers.
What would it be if you could change one thing about the art world?
There are lots that I would like to change in the art world if I could. Visual art is the most abused art of all the arts. Performing artists and musicians are well valued and called celebrities; many of them climb the ladder of success often at the earlier stage of their career. Unfortunately, this is not the same with visual arts; visual artists do not climb the ladder of success at the early stage of their career, and they are often called starving artists. The works of visual artists are more valuable after their death in modern society which I consider robbery and a crime against artists that used their sweat and blood to create works that are making billions for the modern art collectors. This I would like to change. Open call that collects submission fees from thousands of artists for group exhibitions for opportunity to sell their works and for exposure but only shortlist few artists is extortion and exploitation; this I would like to change. I disdained the so call “contemporary art”. Ascribing the word ART to a pile of rubbish is absurd an insult to those artists who spends many hours and use their blood and sweats to produce beautiful and great arts. The Unkept Bed is not art to me, and banana with duct-taped sticked to the wall is certainly not art; this I would like to change.
What are your most significant professional achievements?
One of my significant professional achievements is winning Collector Art Prize. I thank God for the blessing of many professional achievements and recognitions. I cherished them all and I consider everyone of them as significant achievements.
What do you wish to tell viewers about your work that might not come out explicitly? What do you hope to inspire with your artwork?
In most of my exhibitions and interviews, I often say that I like to use my art to exhibit my Christian faith and my Yoruba rich cultural heritage. There is persecution of Christians in many nations across the world and many prophets of doom and prosperity preachers have brought Christianity to disrepute. Christianity is neither for condemnation of anyone neither is it for extorting funds from people. In the Holy Bible, Lord Jesus says, “For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world” John 12 verse 47. I painted “Riding the Storms and the Waves” to illustrate Isaiah 43:2 – One of the encouraging words in the Bible that assured us that God is with us in all storms and waves of life.
James Brown, an American singer said, “Say it loud, am Black and Proud.” I am saying it loud with my works that I am a proud African artist. Western media often direct their cameras and their writings to focus on negative side of Africans like corruption, poverty, and wars. Africa is not poor; she is a great continent and a rich and God blessed continent. I created “GELE (Africans’ Headwrap): Vintage and Modern” and “Ijo Iyawo (The Bridal Dance)” to illustrate the affluence and flamboyance of Yoruba people from Africa. I also used my works to celebrate achievements of Africans and black people around the world. I did a painting“Kabiyesi Oba Obama (Unquestionable King Obama)” to celebrate President Obama second term as President of America. My painting “SOYINKA: An African Literary Icon” was done to honour Professor Wole Soyinka for his achievement in the world of Literature.
What advice would you give to the upcoming generation of artists?
What I would advice the upcoming generation of artists is to do their work with passion and tenacity. I would advise them to embark on their careers not to focus on making fortune immediately. We all know the famous saying, “Fame and fortune”, for artists, fortune seldom comes without fame. Artists need to make their name famous in the art world to make fortune. Art collectors need to know them first before they start buying their works and unfortunately, some galleries and art establishment often promote what I do not consider as arts, like “A banana with duct-taped sticked to the wall sold for $120,000.00 while serious artists are still battling day and night to get adequate recognition. Banksy will do a stencil artwork of one colour or two like a graffiti on the wall and they become the talk in the artworld. Making fortune immediately should not be motivating factor to choose art as their career. Upcoming artists need to work diligently to be famous in the artworld and attract art collectors to make fortune. Artist Banksy got the fame now and care less about fortune.
In what direction would you like to see your career go in the next five years?
As a person of faith, with God’s enablement, in the next five years I pray my works will attract more art collectors and global recognition. I hope to have my works with prominent galleries to sell more works.
Country United Kingdom
Website https://o-yemi-tubi.pixels.com
