Lagos and Its Representation in Visual Arts

Lagos, in West Africa, by virtue of its strategic coastal location, has played very significant roles in human development and modernity. It has for centuries been a hub of economic, political, and artistic activities. Lagos has been a favorite subject of artists, who have depicted its physical and cultural uniqueness variously. This paper examines Lagos generally, and how parts of its history, geography, culture, myths, cosmopolitan nature, the joy and challenges of living in it have inspired artistic production by some of its creative minds.The study seeks to engage and explain the works of contemporary visual artists such as Ghariokwu Lemi, Emmanuel Ekefrey, Bimbo Adenugba, Dil Humphrey Umezulike, Bolaji Ogunwo, Ayo Owolabi, Taiwo Oye, Kehinde Sanwo, Adekusibe Odunfa, Abiodun Olaku, Lukman Karounwi, Bodun Shodeinde, and Mavua Lessor, in the context of their representation of Lagos. Paintings, sculptures and drawing including Lagos Shitty (2001), Survival of the Fittest (2003), Waiting for the Bus (2003), Oshodi Isale (2007), Eyo (2012), Eja Nla II (2017), Apongbon Exit (2019), and Onilegogoro (2022) are analyzed. The artworks were chosen because they depict salient physical aspects and realities about Lagos. In addition, they also document iconographic features such as the Eyo,1molue,2 and White Cap Chiefs, which are unique to Lagos.The study is carried out through observation and analysis of visual artworks produced or influenced by Lagos or factors of its existence. Galleries, studios, and websites were visited while books and journals were consulted and a few interviews conducted to gauge the different ways that Lagos has been portrayed. The meaning and reason for distinct Lagos features such as Eyo, molue, danfo,3 the color yellow, the Idejo chiefs,4 traffic jams and congestion portrayed in the artworks are also explained.Lagos, as far back as the eighteenth century, has been a destination for regional and global economic activities (Olatunbosun 1981). Lagos is evidently the artistic capital of Nigeria, a melting pot for all the cultures in Nigeria, the West African coast, and other parts of the world because of the economic opportunities it offers, its urbanity, and its status as a former capital of Nigeria, all of which attract people to dwell in it (Filani 2001; jegede 2001; Sonuga 1987). Lagos, in spite of its multicultural nature, is largely a Yoruba city,5 founded by Ogunfunminire and Olofin, princes from Ile-Ife, the ancestral home of the Yoruba (Alli 2002; Sonuga 1987). They belonged to the Awori, a subgroup of the Yoruba who settled and occupied many parts of Lagos which, according to Sonuga, still retain their original names. Consequently, Yoruba language, beliefs, and cultural practices are preeminent in Lagos.Lagos, also known as Eko6 (Sonuga 1987: 7; Adepegba 2017: 37), would appear to have a centripetal force that draws to it people from far and near. This supposition is affirmed by Olumhense (2010: 69): “Lagos is a national aspiration. ‘Nigerians to Lagos’ could actually replace the old metaphor, ‘bees to honey.'“ Mabogunje records that by 1851, Lagos already had among its population people from such diverse and distant cultures as the “Hausa, Nupe, Edo, Fulani, Borguwa, Kanuri and Wadai” (qtd. in Sonuga 1987: 4). He further notes that other Yoruba subgroups such as the “Egba, Ijebu, Oyo, Ibadan, Ijesa, Ondo and Ekiti” had representations in Lagos as at the time.Lagos was furthermore a major trading center and slave port where hordes of captives were freighted through the Atlantic Ocean into different parts of the world; this, according to Sonuga (1987), was why it later became a foremost resettlement center for Yoruba repatriates such as the Saro7 and the Aguda,8 from their forced sojourn in the new world after the abolition of the slave trade. They too helped to swell the population of the city and brought about substantial social, cultural, and economic changes through architectural modernization via acquired skills in masonry, smithing, and carpentry, as well as through trading, missionary activities, culinary cultures, Western and Brazilian lifestyles, fashion, etc., and by forming the pioneering African elite class by acquiring Western education. They thus enhanced the status of the city to later play active roles in the colonial administration of Nigeria (Sonuga 1987; Ademuleya 2010; Omidire 2016).Lagos is a city defined by its structure of islands, sandbanks, and waters. From a population of about 350,000 in the early 1960s (Fashola 2010: 3) to about 21 million in 2016 (World Population Review 2023), Lagos has been described by jegede (2001: 61) as “one of the fastest growing cities in the world.” Its sprawl presently has annexed neighboring towns such as Egbeda, Idimu, Agege, Shomolu, Bariga, Ajegunle, Ikorodu, Iju, Ikotun, Iba, Agboju, and Ajangbadi, and even in neighboring Ogun State, towns such as Akute, Sango, Alagbado, Alagbole, and Agbara, all of which are separate kingdoms but which have unofficially dissolved into and have come to be known as part of Lagos.Lagos is divided into two parts; the island and the mainland, separated by the lagoon and connected by bridges. This binary metaphorically defines and delimits the living spaces in Lagos between the rich and the poor; the rich on the cozy and breezy island and the poor in the neglected, squalid mainland. The binary also speaks to the astonishing paradoxes of Lagos being home to the ancient and the modern, culturally; the stupendously rich and the miserably poor; a city of squalor and beauty; glitters and eyesores; religiosity and godlessness; bitterness and sweetness and, as succinctly put by Fela Kuti,9 “its most popular musician” (Ofeimun 2001: 137) a city of “shuffering and shmiling.”10 That Nigeria was once pronounced “the happiest place in the world”11—in spite of the glaring inadequacies, suffering, insecurity, and below-poverty-line standard of living of most of its citizenry—owes so much to the infectious Lagos spirit and attitude that keeps fighting and believing that no matter how bad today is, tomorrow will surely be better.12Scholars such as Aradeon (2001), jegede (2001), Ofeimun (2001), Filani (2001), and Olorunyomi (2001), have written on diverse aspects of creative expressions and industry in Lagos, and yet, with their impassioned erudition, they have merely scratched the surface of the treasures and lore of this brimming city of history and allure.Aradeon (2001) appraises public sculptures in Lagos and concludes that they are mostly afterthoughts and appendages rather than integral parts of the plans, structures, and spaces they occupy, a development which in most cases renders the sculptures unsuitable, unsafe, debased of purpose, and counterproductive. As true as Aradeon's position is regarding many public sculptures in Lagos, there are exceptions, like the ones in Tafawa Balewa Square and some newly developed parks in the metropolis, which were factored in as integral parts of the general design of their locations and as such, are safe and complementary.jegede (2001: 61-79) takes a painterly look at Lagos, its “visual culture; art market, galleries, artists and epochs” and avers that, despite its busy and cacophonous nature, “Lagos is color,” a canvas of inexhaustible content and, inspiration. Lagos to him is Nigeria's artistic capital and clearinghouse, where creative ideas and products are first tested and validated. jegede's inclination towards painting and painterly imageries in his appraisal is understandable for a practicing painter and art historian; however, there is more to Lagos than can be seen through the spectrum of just one genre of art, as other areas of art compete favorably with painting. For example, just as jegede posits that “Lagos is color,” one may also be correct to conclude from a sculptural viewpoint that “Lagos is concrete.”Ofeimun (2001: 11) likens the city to a poem, usually undertaken as “a world of concentrated time” where different ages and histories are brought together in a common space. He takes a holistic look at the binary in its composition, the conflicts of elements and interests, the cluelessness in upgrading the city at both the conceptual and physical levels, the consequent inadequacies and suffering, and the need for all of these “to make conversation possible” to ensure improved metropolis, peaceful cohabitation, knowledge production, and most importantly, to inspire creativity. Ofeimun's optimism is legendary for a man who witnessed “the loss of paradise” in Lagos and Nigeria13 from the vantage position of being private secretary to one of Nigeria's most prominent statesmen, Obafemi Awolowo (1909-1987). To Ofeimun, notwithstanding the wasted opportunities, conflicts, profligacy, suffering, and cluelessness of the ruling class, the synergy of efforts can still make the desired difference, the absence of which is responsible for the stifling of the right atmosphere to make creativity thrive.Filani's (2001) examination of patronage of art in Lagos identifies the major agencies, dealers, and collectors whose initiatives oil the wheels of art merchandizing and concluded, based on the improvements in the sector, that the days of meddlesomeness, uninformed brinkmanship, and middlemen whose approaches are akin to pricing art like tomatoes were over as modern marketing strategies and initiatives have taken over. As enthusiastic as Filani is in his deductions, there are still galleries in Lagos that shortchange artists and act unprofessionally in matters of art, thereby undermining the measure of achievements in the sector as alluded to by Filani. jegede's appraisal of Lagos, however, is the most relevant to this study because of the affinity in his visualization of the vast resources and creativity that Lagos holds and inspires in its contemporary artists and because of the prominence of paintings in the works selected for the study.There are myths associated with Lagos that are responsible for the awe with which it is perceived. For example, it is believed that money made in Lagos cannot be taken out of Lagos, owo Eko, Eko lo ngbe.14 This myth may have arisen as a result of the recklessness which the exposure of the newcomer to the city's limitless fun induces. Lagos, it is said, is enjoyment galore (Sonuga 1987), compared to the limited fun in the hinterland. It has been proven, however, that fortunes made in Lagos can be invested to great profit out of Lagos.15 While it is customary for metropolises the world over to welcome strangers to its space, Lagos amazingly does not signpost any welcome to visitors or settlers. All it had for a time was an introductory “This is Lagos” at the busiest entrance to the city—so that, right from the onset, visitors are cautioned that they are on their own and responsible for their fortunes or misfortunes.Lagos is believed to be the fountain of wisdom,16Eko, ilu ogbon. Anyone who has lived in Lagos and is not wise cannot get better anywhere else, it is widely held. Lagos also does not condone sluggishness, Eko o gba gbere,17 neither does it tolerate nonsense, especially on a “Monday Morning,” when it is expected that every Lagosian18 will be at his duty post.19 Lagosians are believed to embody the Lagos verve that distinguishes and pushes them to survive in spite of odds. This Lagos spirit is aptly captured in the following quote adapted from a more general African quote to fit the Lagos situation:Lagos is the city of show-off and vainglorious reputation which has earned it the sobriquet “Eko for show.” This may have been borne out of its primus inter pares status among the other cities and towns in Nigeria, in what Fashola (2010: 3) describes as consequent upon its “glamour, beauty, urbaneness, style, poise, fashion that were the signatures of Lagos; hallmarks of modernity.” Its privileged location has afforded it exposure and advantages not attainable elsewhere in Nigeria.The geography of Lagos has contributed to its myth. As a city endowed with both the expansive Atlantic Ocean and the lagoon, Lagos is popularly known as Eko, a romi sa legbe legbe, the city which, as concisely put by Sonuga (1987: 7) is “bedecked with interminable stretches of water,” such that the impressionable Jolayemi (2010: 26) as a thirteen-year-old intending visitor to the city, conceived its body of water as a “river that has only one bank.”Culturally, Eyo masquerade is symbolic of Lagos, as have become the molue and the danfo buses, its popular modes of transportation. It is commonly said, o deko, o meyo, literally translated as, if you have not been to Lagos you cannot lay claim to knowing Eyo. Eyo is a masquerade/masquerade festival that is organized to mark important events such as the passage of dignitaries. Usually clad in white, Eyo is simply emblematic of Lagos in a way that only the molue and danfo buses can rival. Songs, poems, sculptures, drawings, and paintings have been produced about them. The molue particularly is moribund, due to government's improved transportation policy which is gradually phasing it off Lagos roads and replacing it with more comfortable buses; thus, the molue—Fela Anikulapo Kuti derisively sang about its crowding and discomfort as “forty-nine sitting and ninety-nine standing”20—may in no distant future become history and may only come alive through documentation, including the artistic. The molue, together with the ubiquitous danfo buses and taxi-cabs, have painted Lagos yellow, a color which in its commonality is a summation of Lagos and as attested by Onikeku (2010: 41): “Lagos has a color that you can't just define in few words.” Closely related are the traffic gridlocks of Lagos, which have turned the roads into a misery and a haven of mobile hawkers, who sell almost everything conceivable, including puppies.The congestion in Lagos and its ever-increasing built spaces have contributed to its uniqueness. Ofeimun (2001: 138) states, “Lagos is easily one of the most congested and chaotic cities in the world.” This may be attributed to the fact that Lagos welcomes all and does not discriminate (Mbanefo 2010). This much is affirmed in a popular saying that Eko gbole, o gbole, Lagos has room for all, including thieves and the lazy.To many, Lagos is conceived as ilu odaju, a merciless place where people mind their own businesses and have long stopped being their brother's keepers. While this may be true to some extent, judging by the spate of frauds, robberies, kidnappings, rituals, and other underworld activities and as attested by Olumhense (2010: 69), “Lagos can make love to you. It can make a star of you. It can make a giant of you. It can chew you up and spit you on to the pavement. And sometimes, it can do all of these to you in 24 hours”; nonetheless, Ikiebe (2010: 57) holds that “Lagos is full of humanity in the midst of abject poverty,” citing and comparing the snobbish attitude of the rich with the compassionate disposition of the poor who, in spite of their lack, are kind and accommodating.The legendary force that pulls people to Lagos can be gauged in the fact that, regardless of its unflattering reputation and in spite of his exposure and opportunities to live anywhere in the world, Fela Anikulapo Kuti in one of his early songs (“Eko Ile,” 1973), avers that: ko ma si bi ti mo le forile, ko si o, a feko ile … Translated, it means; “There is nowhere else I can return to except Lagos …” He further croons that:Like Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Odia Ofeimun's favorite city is Lagos. This much is evident in his writings and pronouncements,21 and despite his thorough understanding of Lagos and its inadequacies, he has refused to leave the city except for the periods of his literary engagements outside the city.It is impossible to recall and recount all the myths of Lagos within the scope of this study, just as it is difficult to examine all the artworks addressing different aspects of the Lagos polis. However, all of these descriptions of Lagos have provided ingredients and inspiration for artists and, have yielded expressions in music, poetry, drama, and the visual arts from which the following have been selected. They were selected because of their availability and aptness to the Lagos story. This study is hinged on the social history theory that advances that works of art express the lore of the culture that created them (Barnet 2000). My concern therefore is the representation of Lagos as solely determined by the artists and inspired by its existential realities.The aforesaid narratives about Lagos have inspired a great body of visual art works, of which the following seventeen are examined. They are Lagos-centered works, and their number ensures adequate coverage of the many sidedness of Lagos and adds visual dimension to the discussion of its myths and realities. They Have All Gone to Lagos (Fig. 1) is a landscape painting of a section of a desolate, rusty village, produced in shades and tints of ochre, green, white, and blue, by Ikorodu-Lagos-born artist Kolade Oshinowo. Painted in the variant of realism typical of this artist and employed mainly in profiling rural landscapes in Nigeria, the painting, ironically, does not depict any physical aspect of Lagos but the setback which massive migration to Lagos has brought upon many Nigerian villages and towns. As stated previously, Lagos has a pull that magnetizes people to it. This pull is partly a result of the neglect which the hinterland has suffered interminably, leading to desertion and urban drift by the villagers to enjoy the good things of life which the towns and villages lack.Kolade Oshinowo is indisputably one of Nigeria's foremost painters. He is prolific as well as gifted in realistic portrayal of people, places, and events evident in his treatment of They Have All Gone to Lagos, in which atmospheric airiness, spatial depth, contrasting tones, subtlety in modelling, and the use of colors and good draughtsmanship have combined to give the painting the conviction of his intended message.The multicultural configuration of Lagos is captured in Water House (12 Kakawa Street, Lagos) (Fig. 2), a painting in the series made by Kehinde Sanwo to document the fast-disappearing vestiges of the Brazilian architecture imported to Lagos22 by repatriates of the slave trade. The painting depicts a sprawling, Brazilian-styled multistorey building and its immediate frontage in a busy part of Lagos, painted in tints of white, yellow, ochre, and greys. The hurried movements and strides of the figures to the left of the painting in apparent response to the beckoning of the bus conductor reflect Lagos verve and hastiness while the yellow of the dresses, umbrella, and tables is evocative of the “Lagos color.”There is an obvious impressionistic glamour to the painting, such that it can be likened to some of the canvases of the world's Impressionism greats like Alfred Sisley and Camille Pissarro. Many of these Brazilian-influenced buildings have given way to new ones that are not of Brazilian origin, hence the need, according to the artist, for their visual documentation. Water House, among other paintings in its class, while chronicling an aspect of Lagos history and landscape, evaluates Lagos not only in the terms of its modern structures but also those of its historical past.Lagos Shitty (Fig. 3), by Ghariokwu Lemi, is an ambitious painting that attempts to capture in just one frame the numerous characteristics of Lagos. The painting is illustrative of among other things, the congestion in Lagos, the emblematic yellow color of its means of transportation, dichotomies between the rich and the poor, the fun, the partying, romance, and the hardship of the city, the security measures and breaches indicated by the barbed wires, the policeman on duty and the robbery operation and street fight; the Eyo festival, the lagoon, hawking, open defecation, disorderliness, recklessness and many other activities of the city, corrupted as “Shitty” for effect in the title.The artist adopts both the bird eye's view and shifting focus23 approach by which each story is told as an independent part, not related in size, ratio, and perspective to the whole. This explains why proportions of the figures and other elements do not count and humans can be bigger than cars. This is a compositional device rather than a technical defect, adopted to be able to include great details, otherwise the entire stories as told would not have been possible using the conventional compositional method. Artist Ghariokwu Lemi designed Fela Anikulapo Kuti's album sleeves, giving pungent visual accompaniments to twenty-six of Fela's albums.24 He understands Lagos, as demonstrated by the many stories skillfully told in the painting.Molue (Fig. 4), Lagos’ popular mode of transportation, is the subject of Emmanuel Ekefrey's painting. He attempts to portray an emblematic molue and the usual rush that attends its boarding. He also captures the overloading, discomfort, and danger that it constitutes to its passengers. Even though the artists has taken the deep yellow-colored molue out of its usual context and into an unreal, beautifully patterned violet-blue background where it is strongly contrasted, its symbolism is not lost as illustrative of the suffering of the masses of Lagos, depicted in how passengers are packed inside it while others have been flung on the ground and even more cling dangerously to the door, windows, and rear of the metal contraption. The composition itself is crowded with patterns, forms, and humans in the same way the molue is usually jam-packed.Ekefrey is an unusual artist whose approach, though imitative, is not naturalistic. He takes liberties with laws of formal organization such as perspective, proportion, tonality, and spatial depth. His interest seems to be in the physical decorativeness of his composition rather than the copying of forms in their exactness.The molue is depicted in its natural ambience in Oshodi Isale (Fig. 5) a painting of a crowded and notorious part of Lagos. A sea of humans is depicted engaged in different activities, with the molue and other smaller buses waiting for their turn to load. molue is emblematic of the poor and Oshodi is home to their teeming multitudes. The artist is painstaking in bringing out the details of the numerous activities of the crowded canvas and his approach is near photographic.His strength can be seen in the deceptive and seemingly “effortless” composition and finishing of the painting, with all parts and elements appearing measured and fitting in their placement. With the effective management of the picture space, color usage, simulated depth, and visually suggested intersection of the line of the buses and the overhead bridge which pierce into the distant skyline, Adenugba's dexterity is proven and astonishing.In Waiting for the Bus (Fig. 6), Dil Humphrey Umezulike has ingeniously and habitually repurposed detritus of urban consumer goods and other wastes, which ordinarily constitute environmental nuisance as media of artistic expression. The installation comprises about seven figures made of assorted “waste” materials that cast a somewhat cynical posture as they are made to represent human figures waiting to board a bus. Lagos is viewed in the piece through its waste generation and management, which the artist seems to call attention to. The creativity of the artist, popularly called Junkman of Africa due to his obsession with junk, could be appreciated not in the literal correctness of his figures but in their mimicry of real life, people, and situations and the compelling message of general environmental importance.Apongbon Exit and Bumper to Bumper (Figs. 7–8) by Bolaji Ogunwo attempt to depict the hustling and bustling and attendant gridlock in Lagos through the composition of plastic elements imbued with the artist's expressionistic technique. He captures the ubiquitous yellow color of Lagos taxis, molue, and danfo, as well as the frenzy of the city through manipulation of thick layers of contrasting and agreeable colors. Ogunwo's unique touch is in his reduction of the hurly-burly in Lagos to a tangle of colors and compositions straddling the borders of realism and abstraction.Eyo (Figs. 9–10), one of Lagos’ most iconic constructs and masking traditions, is portrayed in two- and three-dimensional formats by Ayo Owolabi and Taiwo Oye respectively. In Owolabi's Eyo painting (Fig. 9), comprising numerous images of masquerades, the artist's mastery is revealed in his draughtsmanship, composition, proportions, and color usage. The folds and figures of the masquerades are modelled to the extent that they look sculpted, whereas they are images painted on a two-dimensional surface. There is a rhythmic flow and movement to the robes and figures of the Eyo in Figures 9 and 10 which appear to animate them. The frontward thrust of Oye's Eyo sculpture (Fig. 10) and its sheer naturalism imbues it with a liveliness that is enchanting. Eyo is symbolic of the gaiety and goodwill of Lagosians and this much is encoded in the salutation of the masquerade and Lagosians during the festival; mo yo fun e, mo yo fun ra mi; meaning, “I rejoice with you, I rejoice with myself.” In Eyo, the pleasantness of Lagos is reflected.Lagos is justifiably described as the city of aquatic splendor due to its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean and the lagoon. This notion of Lagos is captured by the installation titled Eja Nla II (The Big Fish II) (Fig. 11) by Adekusibe Odunfa and the painting titled Makoko Retreat25 (Fig. 12) by Abiodun Olaku. Odunfa's metal installation of fishes depicts Lagos as a city of plentiful fish of different species. Suspended against the sky, the piece simulates the motion of fish in water in their glittering multicolor finery. Eja Nla II comprises a school of about three hundred fishes of different sizes, according to the artist.26 “Fishes are linked to Lagos,” the artist observes, “because of the coastal factor and the consequent tradition of fishing.”Olaku's Makoko Retreat, a waterscape painting, though calm in appearance, highlights the seamy side of the city where individuals have been left to their survival abilities, with houses built on water and inhabited at the occupant's risk. The houses and shacks line the sides of the canvas, thus creating a waterway at the center, marked by strong reflection of the setting sun and other light sources. Makoko Retreat is done in the naturalistic style characteristic of Abiodun Olaku. The overall somber colors and the striking reflection of the sun on the water provide great contrast and a focal point, while several human figures lurk in the dark, all attesting to an artist well at home with his expertise.The conceptualization and formatting of Eja Nla II shows a departure from the conventional sculptures in Lagos. It is creatively different in its array of fishes in the open and speaks to possibilities and inventiveness in outdoor sculptures.Onilegogoro (Fig. 13) by Lukman Karounwi, after a photograph of the same title by Okhai Ojeikere, mirrors in drawing a popular hairstyle of the 1960s made in emulation of the high-rise buildings springing up in Lagos. Just as in paintings and sculptures, hairstyling and fashion reflect and document developments in Nigerian society. Onilegogoro is particularly different from other hairdos of the period because of the towering height of its stems. The sharpness and clarity of the image and the deliberate back-of-the-head viewpoint chosen by the artist avoid the facial features, which might distract from the main intent and subject of the drawing, making evident the artist's skill and experience.The sculpture The Three White Cap Chiefs (Fig. 14) represents the Idejo, who are reputed to have been the original landlords of Lagos Island. They are portrayed sculpturally in different gestures of salutation indicative of the warmth and hospitality of Lagos and Lagosians. Its position at the major Ibadan expressway entry to Lagos is believed to have been chosen to correct the belief that Lagos does not have any symbol of welcome to the city. The figures have idealized proportions that hint at the artist's perception of their importance and roles as landlords and moneybags of Lagos’ most expensive section.The same way Fela Anikulapo Kuti has been described as the bard of Lagos, Mavua Lessor is arguably the painter of Lagos. Unlike other visual artists who feature Lagos occasionally in their works, Mavua Lessor's entire oeuvre is inspired by Lagos in its different aspects. Lagos, to him, is an obsession, as shown in three of his paintings selected for the study. According to the artist,To the question “why he paints Lagos” he answered,In Towards Megalopolis (Fig. 15), Bread Hunt (Fig. 16), and Mentality of Chaos (II) (Fig. 17), the architecture, structural layout, the hurly-burly, disquiet, the colors, congestion, and sprawl, among other features of Lagos, are painted.Towards the Megalopolis (Fig. 15) portrays a colorful, busy Lagos motorway sandwiched between clusters of skyscrapers, with a traffic-laden overhead bridge connecting the two concrete divides. Together with Bread Hunt (Fig. 16), there are so many activities and movements happening at the same time, giving the painting the feel of a hyper-megalopolis. The artist's understanding of colors and mastery of his own technique of application is deployed to great advantage. Colors are harmonized and contrasted for effects. His approach is not literal but highly impressionistic. Forms are suggested by broad strokes of the painting knives which culminate in an overall restless canvas that reinforces the Lagos sensation. His titles, such as Bread Hunt and Mentality of Chaos (Fig. 17) also give verbal accompaniments to his visual summations. While Bread Hunt alludes to the survival drive of Lagosians, Mentality of Chaos cautions against the d