INTERNATIONAL ART FESTIVAL 2022

“with the right thinking, something can be created out of nothing; problems can be solved through meditative thinking”- Yusuf Durodola

Yusuf Durodola was one of the recycled artists out of over 20 who participated in the ARTMIABO INTERNATIONAL ART FESTIVAL which took place at EbonyLife Place from Friday 29th April to Sunday 1st of May 2022. 

Where commonly with international art festivals the participating artists’ inclination is bent towards saleable aesthetically pleasing guilt-free artworks, Yusuf Durodola went on the path of taking aim at the conscience of visitors. This would be the likely explanation for the theme for his three-Elegance, When I See You I See Myself, and Eleyinju Ege (black beauty series)-recycled artworks which is: MINDSET.

Of course, it is the proper revolutionization of the human reasoning faculties that can lead to the genuine remaking of the world as is the central focus of ARTMIABO INTERNATIONAL ART FESTIVAL 2022.

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Yusuf Durodola’s heterodox recycled pieces in “Mindset” were carefully selected to curate the diverging mentality of humanity as it concerns the discussion of environmental sustainability. 

The three recycled artworks are his investigative findings on humans’ intellectual reaction toward ineffective waste management. Also, the artworks featured in “Mindset” query the boundary of what makes sense and what doesn’t in art. 

Further, Durodola ironically employs our leftovers as recipes of mouth-watering art offerings meant to satisfy a unique exclusive craving.

The objects that form the visible images in When I See You I See Myself, Eleyinju Ege (black beauty series), and Elegance are not simply exploited as throw-aways to create thought-provoking recycled art pieces. 

Rather, Yusuf Durodola has paradoxically used our daily disposables as articles of instruction and materials of awareness. Clearly, his exhibited recycled works are not solely intended to be generally desired collections suitable for sale. 

However, they have been created in such a manner that they raise conversations in the mind of the audience engaging the awe-inspiring pieces. 

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As he has utilized them, the supposedly disused materials become tools of expressive construction. An artistic strategy that gradually but firmly establishes the idea of environmental conservation in the consciousness of the audience.

There is a realistic factor to “Mindset”. For instance, in Eleyinju Ege (black beauty series), abandoned household materials like cassettes, doorknobs, the mopping brush head, TV remotes, washing machine drainage pipes, cell phones covers, Lego toys amongst others have been assembled in an artistic manner to create a face that looks like that of an enchanting female figure god of abandoned wastes 

Yusuf Durodola in a highly clever manner has transformed ordinary things people ignore and wouldn’t normally look at into extraordinary creations so intriguing that the optical sense cannot help but be totally captivated by them. In a spellbinding way, he transformed the blemishes of refuse into desirably perfect artistic artifacts.   

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With a masterful splash of lively colors as seen in Elegance, Yusuf Durodola illuminates the beauty of what we hold as rubbish. But beyond that, he underlines with Elegance that beauty doesn’t lie in the eyes of the beholder but in his/her mind.

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The artistic impression is that “Mindset” by Yusuf Durodola is his perceptible representation of what the future of the world could be like- colorful, neat, and cultured- without childish wasteful behaviors. 

Hence his recycled works for ARTMIABO INTERNATIONAL ART FESTIVAL 2022 become timeless environmental devices that can be used as a blueprint to remake the world. Owning to the fact that they are inventive compilations and imaginative projections of how the world would look if humans worked together. This is vivid in Elegance where wastes have been used to create an irresistible rainbow-like recycled artwork. 

Yusuf Durodola’s mindful exhibits for this festival are visual metaphors produced as reconstructed symbolism of the universe we all desire. With “Mindset”, Yusuf Durodola proves that the world can be perfect without blemishes if humans can utilize their skills in the right ways that are advantageous to the earth. 

Manipulating the colors he can avail himself of from the found souls, Yusuf Durodola exploits hues of red and black to stir the mind and evoke the emotions of his audience. 

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That being said, “Mindset” is a strategic tasteful curation of recycled artworks with the potential to show the beholder how to contribute positively to the occurring nature vs human disagreement. The titles, the subjects, and the intentional application of color further inspire the individual who engages with the recycled pieces to be more responsible as humans about Remaking the World. 

Being a protagonist in this persistent advocate for environmental management and protection, it is Yusuf Durodola’s hope that Nigeria, Africa, and the world get to the point where a recycled artist like himself won’t find discarded materials to create with. This is the “Mindset” that keeps him going on and on as a recycled artist. 

In an art medium- a recycled art form- that suffers unfair preferential patronage in Nigeria, Yusuf Durodola remains unwavering in his dedication to upholding his responsibility as an artistic peacemaker in the nature vs human conflict.

Yusuf Durodola may not be in the category of the most popular recycled artists in the world. Nevertheless, it would be a questionable assessment- one filled with bias- not to find him in the list of the most constantly evolving, adroit, resourceful, candid, detailed, and unpredictable recycled artists in Africa. 

During her session as one of the guest speakers for the workshop organized as part of the agenda for ARTMIABO INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL 2022, the art collector and serving judge of the Rivers State High Court confessed to having fallen in love with Yusuf Durodola upon engaging one of his submissions for the epoch-making event.  

A day before, the event was declared open with the four recycled artworks of Yusuf Durodola as the backdrop. Obviously, this was intentional by the organizers of the recycled art festival. 

The reason is that the recycled artworks are separate from the three official submissions of Yusuf Durodola for the historic art festival. They were borrowed from one of the prestigious galleries in Lagos, Nigeria.

Adding to that, Yusuf Durodola was selected out of the 24 recycled artists to give an explanatory speech on the opening night before visitors were welcomed formally to explore the irresistible recycled offerings of the art festival. 

Probably all of the aforementioned make Yusuf Durodola the most intriguing recycled artist from the 24 who in ARTMIABO INTERNATIONAL ART FESTIVAL 2022?

Yusuf Durodola’s recycled collectibles including photographs and video art from his previous performances on recycled art are worth it for even though they are reminders of our inadequacies as regards environmental degradation, they still somehow have a calming effect on the audience even in this present period of environmental anxiety. 

The artistic scripts as displayed for the audience’s view in ARTMIABO INTERNATIONAL ART FESTIVAL are the illustration of what we can do, who we can be, and where we should invest. 

Four words describe the abundant recycled artworks of the ARTMIABO INTERNATIONAL ART FESTIVAL. They are: interrogative, instructive, interactive, and visionary. 

Interrogative because the absorbing recycled artworks from the 24 artists question art stakeholders’ mental attitude in the discussion of art that is marketable. Instructive since it puts in view sensible and do-it-yourself ideas that can be executed domestically with materials that are deemed no longer fit for usage in the home. 

Interactive because the recycled works communicated that the utility and life span of our “wastes” persists even after they are damaged or considered unworthy for further use.