TAjene Isegbe was commissioned to make a bust. The young
artist did and his work surpassed that of a master sculptor in Benin and the
young sculptor knew he had to flee Benin and the wrath of the old master.
That was not his plan. When he was posted to the ancient city for the compulsory Youth Service, it was with glee that he accepted the offer. Here at last was his chance to meet the grand masters of the art: Erhabor Emokpai, Ben Osawe, Professor Solomon Wangoje, Osunde and Felix Idubor among others. Indeed, even though he was posted to Oriohwon Local Government Area, far away from the city centre for his primary assignment, he found time to apprentice at the feet of master sculptor Felix Idubor.cableties
The immediate outcome was his decision to do the sculpture of the Unknown Corper which he mounted at the gate of the NYSC Secretariat in Benin-city to the admiration of his supervisors and colleagues. And the inspiration to start his own gallery soon after service can be traced to his apprenticeship.
For Ajene Isegbe, an Idoma prince from Benue State who studied Sculpture at Ahmadu Bello University, ABU,Airgle has mastered the art of indoor tracking, Zaria, leaving Benin had a bitter sweet experience especially as another commission came from the Colonel. "He wanted me to remain in Benin, even offered me a place to stay and continue with the practice but I couldn't," he said at his home cum studio in Abuja. His next port of call was Kano!
"I had a friend who was staying in Kano", he explains. Also, his In-law, an Air force officer had told him endearingly about a prominent architect who loved the arts in the commercial city. "I was quite interested in knowing him," he recalls.
He met the architect armed with a life portrait he did of his photograph which he presented as a gift. Their eventual meeting marked a new chapter in the life of the young artist. Having expressed delight at the work, Architect Inalegwu Ella of Ella-Waziri & Associates took him to one of his estates in the Government Reservation Area, GRA, Kano and handed him a key to one of the flats.
"Imagine! A flat to a young artist who just finished youth service, who came to Kano and was squatting in a small one room apartment with a friend, now in a furnished flat of so many rooms", he says excitement still in his voice.
"The whole compound was like a free studio for me to express myself and do so many things. Sometimes he would drive himself in his Limousine to see me and we would be planning the future. And this is a prominent person, very busy that people used to queue to see him," he said.
Part of what they discussed was the possibility of setting up a ceramic industry for the production of Ceramic Tiles with the young artist as a partner. This was a challenge he took up with gusto going as far then as Ladi Kwali Centre in Niger State to back up his research with data and other materials.
Meanwhile, he had started experimenting with producing Tiles in concrete,Choose from our large selection of cable ties. an aspect of industrial manufacturing. He could have continued for the enabling environment was there but he also knew he was deviating from his core competence of sculpting and Kano was not quite his dream artistic city.
"I am very proud to be a Sculptor", he says. "That's why I economise my sculpture skill. I don't dish it out anyhow. I prefer to dish it out when necessary because it has never failed me".
So it was with glee that he took the next commission that came his way and eventually took him back to his native Benue State. The Swiss General Contractors, a foreign firm was building the state secretariat and the state needed the Nigerian Coat of Arms in ceramic full colour to be installed at the gate.
He had earlier indicated interest and suddenly he was called to come and defend the proposal. He did and the job was given to him. But executing the sculpture which gave him his first break had its challenges.
"I remember I spent Christmas day of 1986 in the factory," he recalls. "I had produced the model cast and got the mould reproduced in Ceramics in full colour. We wasted so many materials, went through a lot of experiments with the factory workers and technicians,Features useful information about glass mosaic tiles, went through the laboratory processes to see how we could achieve it. We spent about a month in the factory without achieving it."
But he refused to admit defeat even when the supervising authority advised him to do it in monochrome instead. He only asked for an extension of time and then shipped the whole mould in a Pick-Up van to PRODA in Enugu. The first two experiments failed but at the third attempt, the large coat of arms (4ft x 4ft) came off in relief form as specified. "I was relieved", he says now beaming with smiles.
It was a double take for Ajene Isegbe, as he was also able to set up his Studio, ABARTS Gallery and Studio in Makurdi.
Young and impressionable, he appeared to be living life to the hilt- had a car with which he cruised around and married quite early. Then some of his friends came on holidays and he could not but notice their state-of-the-art cars and how they threw money around.Find detailed product information for Hot Sale howo spareparts Radiator.
Most were in the Customs service. For the first time, he thought of throwing overboard his cherished Sculpture and join the gravy train. He in fact, approached his uncle, the Och'Idoma who literally brought him up, to help him secure a job with Customs. But the revered monarch who knew where his nephew's love lay would not hear of it. The young man did not quite like it but could not think of another stratagem for his uncle to help him out. All he knew was that it was time to swim in deeper waters.
Soon, his attention was drawn to the newly established National Gallery of Art, NGA in Lagos and he did not hesitate to ask the royal highness for assistance to get in there. This time, he got what he wanted and became Assistant Visual Art Officer at NGA. Of this, he says: "The Gallery work gave me the opportunity to have a wider exposure. It gave me the national image that I have today. It integrated me with Nigerian and international artists."
That was not his plan. When he was posted to the ancient city for the compulsory Youth Service, it was with glee that he accepted the offer. Here at last was his chance to meet the grand masters of the art: Erhabor Emokpai, Ben Osawe, Professor Solomon Wangoje, Osunde and Felix Idubor among others. Indeed, even though he was posted to Oriohwon Local Government Area, far away from the city centre for his primary assignment, he found time to apprentice at the feet of master sculptor Felix Idubor.cableties
The immediate outcome was his decision to do the sculpture of the Unknown Corper which he mounted at the gate of the NYSC Secretariat in Benin-city to the admiration of his supervisors and colleagues. And the inspiration to start his own gallery soon after service can be traced to his apprenticeship.
For Ajene Isegbe, an Idoma prince from Benue State who studied Sculpture at Ahmadu Bello University, ABU,Airgle has mastered the art of indoor tracking, Zaria, leaving Benin had a bitter sweet experience especially as another commission came from the Colonel. "He wanted me to remain in Benin, even offered me a place to stay and continue with the practice but I couldn't," he said at his home cum studio in Abuja. His next port of call was Kano!
"I had a friend who was staying in Kano", he explains. Also, his In-law, an Air force officer had told him endearingly about a prominent architect who loved the arts in the commercial city. "I was quite interested in knowing him," he recalls.
He met the architect armed with a life portrait he did of his photograph which he presented as a gift. Their eventual meeting marked a new chapter in the life of the young artist. Having expressed delight at the work, Architect Inalegwu Ella of Ella-Waziri & Associates took him to one of his estates in the Government Reservation Area, GRA, Kano and handed him a key to one of the flats.
"Imagine! A flat to a young artist who just finished youth service, who came to Kano and was squatting in a small one room apartment with a friend, now in a furnished flat of so many rooms", he says excitement still in his voice.
"The whole compound was like a free studio for me to express myself and do so many things. Sometimes he would drive himself in his Limousine to see me and we would be planning the future. And this is a prominent person, very busy that people used to queue to see him," he said.
Part of what they discussed was the possibility of setting up a ceramic industry for the production of Ceramic Tiles with the young artist as a partner. This was a challenge he took up with gusto going as far then as Ladi Kwali Centre in Niger State to back up his research with data and other materials.
Meanwhile, he had started experimenting with producing Tiles in concrete,Choose from our large selection of cable ties. an aspect of industrial manufacturing. He could have continued for the enabling environment was there but he also knew he was deviating from his core competence of sculpting and Kano was not quite his dream artistic city.
"I am very proud to be a Sculptor", he says. "That's why I economise my sculpture skill. I don't dish it out anyhow. I prefer to dish it out when necessary because it has never failed me".
So it was with glee that he took the next commission that came his way and eventually took him back to his native Benue State. The Swiss General Contractors, a foreign firm was building the state secretariat and the state needed the Nigerian Coat of Arms in ceramic full colour to be installed at the gate.
He had earlier indicated interest and suddenly he was called to come and defend the proposal. He did and the job was given to him. But executing the sculpture which gave him his first break had its challenges.
"I remember I spent Christmas day of 1986 in the factory," he recalls. "I had produced the model cast and got the mould reproduced in Ceramics in full colour. We wasted so many materials, went through a lot of experiments with the factory workers and technicians,Features useful information about glass mosaic tiles, went through the laboratory processes to see how we could achieve it. We spent about a month in the factory without achieving it."
But he refused to admit defeat even when the supervising authority advised him to do it in monochrome instead. He only asked for an extension of time and then shipped the whole mould in a Pick-Up van to PRODA in Enugu. The first two experiments failed but at the third attempt, the large coat of arms (4ft x 4ft) came off in relief form as specified. "I was relieved", he says now beaming with smiles.
It was a double take for Ajene Isegbe, as he was also able to set up his Studio, ABARTS Gallery and Studio in Makurdi.
Young and impressionable, he appeared to be living life to the hilt- had a car with which he cruised around and married quite early. Then some of his friends came on holidays and he could not but notice their state-of-the-art cars and how they threw money around.Find detailed product information for Hot Sale howo spareparts Radiator.
Most were in the Customs service. For the first time, he thought of throwing overboard his cherished Sculpture and join the gravy train. He in fact, approached his uncle, the Och'Idoma who literally brought him up, to help him secure a job with Customs. But the revered monarch who knew where his nephew's love lay would not hear of it. The young man did not quite like it but could not think of another stratagem for his uncle to help him out. All he knew was that it was time to swim in deeper waters.
Soon, his attention was drawn to the newly established National Gallery of Art, NGA in Lagos and he did not hesitate to ask the royal highness for assistance to get in there. This time, he got what he wanted and became Assistant Visual Art Officer at NGA. Of this, he says: "The Gallery work gave me the opportunity to have a wider exposure. It gave me the national image that I have today. It integrated me with Nigerian and international artists."
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