Bianca Iboma-Emefu
When you step into Veronica Otigbo-Ekpei’s compound, the first thing that strikes you is the large volume of artworks. Sculptural pieces litter everywhere in her living room, kitchen, bedroom and all around the house. Her house is a mini museum. Every day she chisels and sweats away, carving woodworks work because that is her passion. She dreams, sleeps and wakes up in the arts. She literarily lives in the woods. Little wonder she has confined herself to a remote area in Ibafo-Ogun State, where her heart dwells. In this interview, she talks about her mother.
Please tell us a bit about your mum.
My mum, Mrs Odion Mercy Otigbo is late. She was born in 1944 with her twin sister in Ovbiomu, Afuze, Owan East Local Government Area, Edo State. She died in 2015. Her twin sister is still alive. She had her primary and secondary education in Uhumora, Edo State. My mum worked as a junior staff in Cocoa Research Institute, Uhumora. Her popular name at the institute was “Madam see me happy” because she was always happy around staff and youth corps members that were posted there.
As a child what were the things she told you about boys?
Mum never allowed me to mingle with boys. She belonged to the category of mothers who had this philosophy that if you were seen merely talking with a boy, the next thing was that you would get pregnant. So you must stay away Her concepts was boys should play apart and girls apart. Boys talk and mingle witht boys, while girls play and mingle girls. She made it was like a slogan and it got stucked in my memory.
What advice did she give you as a teenager that is still useful to you till date?
As a teenager, I learnt so much from her; she never failed to use the whip whenever the need arose. Once there was disobedience from any child, mum addressed it in a manner that you would not try such again whenever she passed an instruction. She believed very much in education even though she did not have it all the way. While I was growing up, she taught me to be resilient, respectful, resourceful, kind, tolerant, polite and neat. When I started noticing the various changes associated with puberty, my period, mum was there to educate me. She gave me useful advice that I applied and which is still relevant till date. All this helped to shape me. She never ceased to sound it in my ears that I must get married and start a family of my own after my education.
Can you share some of the favourite things you did with her and would still want to do if you had another chance?
My mum was a very cheerful woman; she took us out a lot to visit family members. We were privileged to go to the cinemas, to watch films, though the film houses were not classic but experience left certain memories in our mind. I bet I can use kungfu to fight, very well as a result of the numerous Chinese movies I watched while growing up. She taught me how to dance; she knew the most beautiful dance steps, both herself and her twin sister.
Which favourite meal did she prepare and which you equally liked?
My mum’s favourite meal was Okho, which is made from grinded beans wrapped and cooked in leaves with okro, fish, garden egg, oil and pepper as the sauce. I love this dish so much because it is healthy and also a balanced meal.
What do you value so much about your mum’s personality?
For the fact that there was never a dull moment with her, I admire her courage, determination, advice, love, always making everyone around her happy and passion to discover new things.
Tell us about your work as a sculptor and how your mum’s influence has encouraged you in a male dominated profession?
We have a lot of sculptors where I come from, but I admire the works of late Monday Akhidwe (Universal Studios), Erahobor Ogieva Emokpae and Princess Elizabeth Olowu. I admire them for their intricate and delicate works. When I developed the interest to become a sculptor, my mum was very supportive. She encouraged my sculpting career despite the fact that it was a male dominated profession which required exertion of a lot of energy to accomplish. As a child, I saw sculptures, shrines, bronzes, everywhere, but get my inspiration from the forest.
I am more into wood, fiberglass, painting, bottom art accidental wood formation.
Art was part of the life of the people, of Edo state and was expressed through singing and dancing. They started with mud but I always wanted to chisel. My mum gave me the go-ahead. She knew I was very adventurous. Bronze casting was a lucrative trade with the Portuguese before the British came to Benin and disrupted it. She never had the idea how it would turn out to be for me but she kept encouraging my work. When I had my first exhibition at the National Musuem, my mum was overwhelmed with so much joy.
Basically, my works centre mostly on things that happen around me. I speak through my art, I tell stories, I educate and impart knowledge through my art. My work creates a debatable topic on a particular issue for discussion. I experiment a lot with different materials. As a full time sculptor, it’s not easy to survive when you don’t have a sponsor that buys your work or promotes it through exhibition.
How you been able to cope with the tedious nature of sculpting as you have to make use of physical strength?
The beauty of art is that as long as the ideas keep flowing there are tools and equipment and manpower that can be utilized to achieve your desired goals. For example, when I did the 30ft Igunnuko masquerade, I knew I could not execute the job alone, so I called some of my professional colleagues. That’s the way to go about it as long as the concept is yours.