VICTOR EFOSA UWAIFO AN EMBODIMENT OF CREATIVITY IN MODERN NIGERIAN ART
ABSTRACT
Victor Efosa Uwaifo is synonymous with artistic ingenuity. He is an epitome of creativity and versatility in the visual arts. He pursues his art career with zeal, unwavering commitment and spirited energy. Today, he stands out as one of the most well read and intellectually sound visual artists and scholars in Nigeria. He is a graphics designer, sculptor, industrial designer and painter. Uwaifo is also a poet, philosopher, architect and art teacher. In spite of his giant stride in the field of the visual arts, he has been given little or no scholarly attention by art scholars. Apart from occasional journalistic reviews in magazines, newspapers and graphic reports in exhibition catalogues, not much scholarly work has been done on Uwaifo’s real professional image and contributions as a visual artist. The research, therefore, finds it very necessary to focus on Victor Uwaifo as an embodiment of creativity in modern Nigerian art. This research attempts to document and acknowledge Victor Efosa Uwaifo with regard to his biography and how distinguished he is as an embodiment of creativity in Nigeria. The research also examines some areas of his versatility, his creative expressions that make him unique in the modern art tradition, his stylistic and thematic dynamism, his influence on modern Nigerian art and, finally, his contributions to tourism in Nigeria. The research finds that Uwaifo hails from Benin traditional setting, which influences his creativity. He influences many artists, including his students, with his Benin culture, which they express in art naturalism. The research also proves that his contributions to tourism in Nigeria is great and that the artist is a great factor in the Nigerian culture of art versatility. In this vein, the research attempts to scholarly document and acknowledge Uwaifo as an embodiment of creativity in modern Nigerian art and hopes to inspire further scholarly research on him.