Solace
Artist Statement
My style presents the viewer with works that comprise figures with elongated neck, arms and exaggerated eyes. The neck, while bearing a spherically big head, projects from a chubby figure to which elongated arms and exaggerated eyes are attached. The figure is often placed against a simple background with vibrant colors.
There are two features common about the figures in my painting which are deliberate:
- The figures are dominantly females
- Only one of the large eyes of the figures appears to be open.
The style serves to project the allegory of the existence of the human. The elongation symbolizes insatiability and every craving and longing for more which is synonymous with human nature.
Lawani Sunday comes from the rocky city of Ososo in Edo State, Nigeria. Its surroundings are made up of beautiful and sought-after natural scenery, which is also the subject of some of Lawani’s works. He is a graduate of the Nigerian Auchi Polytechnic with a Higher National Diploma (HND) specializing in painting. In 2012, he continued his studies at Nmandi Azikiwe University Awka, where he received a Postgraduate Diploma in painting (PGD). Lawani Sunday deals with important social issues with a strong emphasis on the subject of the position of women in society. His paintings tell stories that concern each person one way or another. Lawani’s art speaks directly to compassion and empathy in the depths of our soul. Thus, his work becomes part of the spiritual world. Lawani Sunday believed strongly in experimenting, innovation and exploration of new media in painting and drawings. In recent times, his explorations in human forms tends to challenge the human anatomy by breaking the forms into geometric shapes of different kinds, ranging from rectangular shapes to the cone, circle, triangular, oval semi-circle, pyramid, as well as the use of rhythmic lines, spiral, oblique, vertical lines to create expressive form that is subject to interpretation. His choice of concept and composition is derived from his socio-cultural environment and daily happenings in his immediate environment, be it religious, political, cultural, social or educational. The stylistic approach in his style and technique of breaking forms into paintings, reducing human forms in an idealistic and stylistic formative manner with the use of a pallet knife to create a unique and dramatic textural pattern. He participates in national and international exhibitions including art auctions and currently lectures at the Department of Painting in theSchool of Art and Industrial Design, Auchi Polytechnic Auchi, Edo State Nigeria.
