Oladapo Afolayan recently staged his first major solo show, 40 years after he officially announced himself to the world of sculpture. Titled, The Stone Speaks, A Retrospective Solo Exhibition of Stone Structure of Oladapo Afolayan, the show features 18 diverse works of Afolayan’s stone sculpture with highly sophisticated interpretation, years of experience, attention to detail and dedication to the art. Afolayan had his master’s degree in 1986 and has been lecturing since 1988 at the Auchi Polytechnic.
According to the 64-year-old artist, his art journey began from childhood when he carved a walking stick in Primary 3. “When I gained admission into Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, they gave us options to choose from, I wrote sculpture, sculpture, sculpture.” This is not his first solo show; however, this is his major and main exhibition.
When asked to explain his choice of theme,” he said: “There are articles by professors reviewing my sojourn in sculpting over the years.” He continued, “there was a shift when I got to Auchi Polytechnic. Every sculpture-specialising student must carve stone and wood before they graduate, so, we have a tradition.
Professor Ben Ekanem induced my choice of research, which is stone sculpting and going to stone, I discovered that there was a stone carving culture. “There is a stone museum in Ikom, so, people have been carving stones over the years. I do not see anybody carving stones anymore, although, when I went into the researc.