Grieving Over the Sad End of ‘Community’

Yinka Olatunbosun

Abolore Sobayo’s day was disrupted by a distressing phone call. The visual artist, fashion designer, and politician has recently focused on community art, with hundreds of children from low-income families benefiting from his art centre, Jelosimi Art Centre in Oshodi. During the phone call, a colleague informed him that one of his prominent art pieces, an installation titled “Community,” at the famous Ile Zik bus stop along the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, had been demolished.

This would not be the first time Sobayo’s work has been relocated from its original location. His iconic statue of Afrobeat legend and activist Fela Anikulapo Kuti was once relocated from Allen Roundabout to Opebi Allen Roundabout to allow for the state’s traffic decongestion exercise. However, in the case of the “headless Fela statue”, with the title “Liberation”, he was duly informed so that he could supervise the work’s removal and reinstallation.

For this installation called “Community”, he was completely blindsided by the process. Though distraught by the news, he took some time to explain the situation on Wednesday, February 9. “After that, I went to the site to see what was on ground and I found that the works has truly been demolished. I felt bad as artist and I felt bad as a person who has created a piece of art that is being appreciated by some in the public,” he began, pouring out his heart.

The installation has more than aesthetic significance for the state; it is also a cultural heritage being part of the state commissioned projects to mark Lagos at 50. “‘Community’ is an art installation with an excellent display of unity in Lagos,” he said.

Although it is a commissioned project, Sobayo considers this work as one of the highlights of his portfolio as a visual artist. Of course, the interdisciplinary artist has made a name for himself as a successful politician when he was elected to represent Ogunoloko Ward in Isolo/Oshodi Local Government Area, Lagos as the Leader of the Council from 2011 to 2014. The graduate of Yaba College of Technology was born and raised in Oshodi hence his commitment to community art projects emanates from a place of deep passion.

“I will surely miss the piece as I will be reminded every time I pass through this route. Community is about the communal life in Lagos state and also served as a form of documentation with the maps of the 57 local government areas and LCDAs. Are artworks and intellectual property in the state safe? I have more questions than answers.”

Meanwhile, the damaged installation had been vandalised repeatedly over the last years – first in 2019 when the perimeter fencing was stolen and in 2020 when the metal pole carrying the logo of the state was removed by unknown persons. He had reportedly drawn the attention of concerned authorities to these developments in order to secure the work. For him, the recent demolition shows no respect for the artist’s right to the creative work.

“It is important for information about relocation or demolition to be communicated to the artist because oftentimes, the artists have created these works and even if the works had been acquired and commissioned by the state, the artist still has intellectual property right to the work. The artist should be notified about any amendment that would go into the work. The artist would be able to advise properly on how it would be moved without causing damage to the work, rather than going ahead and forcefully removing or destroying the works and wasting the funds used in creating the works.

“One of the things I wish we can look at is the fact that how much value do we place on art. Art should not be seen, especially public art should not be seen as furniture or a bus stop park that can be demolished. It is quite wrong for anybody to demolish public arts. I think the artist as a stakeholder should be involved in such decision making.

It is unclear if there are laws that protect public art in Nigeria. But in other climes, most public art disputes between the developer or the state and the artist revolve around issues of whether the art can be moved, altered or even destroyed. For instance, in the US, developers pay dearly if they violate artists’ rights. The most important federal law in this area is the Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA), which grants moral rights to artists for works of “recognised stature.” The law grants artists continuing rights over works that have been sold and bars “intentional distortion, mutilation, or other modification of that work which would be prejudicial to [the artist’s] honor or reputation” and “prevents any destruction of a work of recognised stature, and any intentional or grossly negligent destruction of that work.”

For Sobayo, one of the things that he has learnt from a situation like this is how to move forward. “This has happened to my work and I wouldn’t appreciate it if it happens to any other artist’s work,” he explained. “Looking forward, this is what I would like to lobby and hope to advocate for a law that protects public art not just in Lagos but across the nation.”

In a press release signed by the Director, Press and Public Affairs, Lagos State Task Force, Gbadeyan Abdulraheem, the demolition exercise was said to have been carried out to rid the state of criminal elements who rob commuters caught in traffic along that axis and use the installation area as a hideout. “Commuters who constantly ply that axis claimed that suspected traffic robbers –after carrying out their illegal acts usually run into the canoe monument erected to beautify the city,” it read in part.

The “Canoe Monument” is a cultural signpost for the state. The UNESCO Convention Concerning the protection of the world cultural and natural heritage in 1972 considers monumental sculptures as cultural heritage and under article 4 of the convention, every state that is signatory to the convention has the duty to “protect” and “conserve” historical monuments.

Instead of stacking its remains like discarded fish cartons, the installation could be preserved for proper relocation and installation.