One of the household names and self made artist from Eket in Akwa Ibom State, Achie Abia, has called on the new government of President Muhammadu Buhari to consider electricity as a priority for Nigerian economy to have a facelift. Achie, who can be regarded as an exponent of bone art said that irregular power supply to run business in Nigeria has forced many entreprenuers to seek other menial means of survival or even indulge in crime.
One of the works by Achie Abia titled, ‘Broad Street’
The artist who have garnered massive publicity in Nigerian media far back 1995 till date stemming from his effort in creative bone works, made the call during a chat with Sunday Arts.
Speaking on how animal horns from rhino, elephant and lately cow, used for crafted ornaments and decoration inspired his imagination considering its durability, he creatively re-engineered this somewhat animal waste, Cow precisely, to an art piece that has become his unique signature.
However, considering how critics generously evaluated the bone works aesthetically, and having basked in the euphoria of that visibility, Achie expressed displeasures on the infrastructural challenges in Nigeria such as irregular power supply that has put the bone work on hold, paving way for other creative experimentations like mixed media painting.
“I picked interest in bone works because I recycle waste. Yet I still recycle waste in my new found medium which is painting and mixed media. The inspiration came in a dream many years ago and when I shared it, I was told it was what God put in my heart to do. Through the revelation, I started practicing art fully with bone works as my first art experiment.
It was a success story then, however, delving into painting and mixed media works has reduced my bone art practice, caused by inconsistency in power supply as the small generator machine cannot effectively power the heavy duty drilling machines. It was difficult meeting clients’ target because of the exigency of the demand coupled with the amount of time put to produce a masterpiece bone work.
I believe with the current wind of change being felt in some sectors of the economy by the new President Buhari administration, things could change for better. Meanwhile, I would appeal to government to seriously consider electricity as a priority for Nigerian economy to have a facelift. This will also help young entrepreneurs to be actively relevant to themselves and Nigeria in general.”
Achie who never had a formal art training, but was inspired by artists friends like Ini Brown and others, said he experiments in saw dust, sand, paper and other materials to produce mixed media paintings, installation works and metal sculptures. The artist can also boast of some commissioned works of paintings at Covenant University guest house, Nigeria Ports Authority gate at Apapa and numerous giant metal sculptural works adorning both private and public buildings in Nigeria to his credit.
“I don’t just do works for aesthetic sake. I do works that carry messages. Most of my work evokes feelings of crisis in Africa and a need for government to do something. Globally, Africa has the most internal crises. I use my works to reawake the spirit of Africanism and also evoke the consciousness of peace and unity bind in our national anthem.”
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