Damiete Braide
Aideloje Austin Slam is an up-and-coming visual artist who believes every artist needs to create his/her own style, because it makes the artist unique during art exhibitions and the artist can be easily identified in public.
“So I would encourage young artists to have a signature, because it helps them to grow faster in the industry and he has been able to master his painting skills,” he says.
“I have been in the art industry for some years now, and, because of my passion and not the money, I enjoy working. I love what I do and I love my medium, because I understand it very well. I am used to the concept of using fingernails to work, because they are my friends and we don’t give up on each other. My passion is the first thing that I do, and I know money will come later.”
When asked why he uses contemporary women fashion and female bodies and faces as his medium of expression, he says we all know that fingernails is an addition to the female body, and he uses it in both bodies and skeletons because the beauty of fingernails can tell how beautiful the soul of every human being if people can be truthful to one another.
“Sometimes when I look at some ladies’ hands and I see the particular colour that I have been looking for and I would think, ‘If only you are my girlfriend; these nails are for you, because I feel the fingernails tell me, take me. Friends should not give up on themselves. I have been discouraged so many times, but I am still here.”
The artist, popularly known as Slam Austin, adds there are so many artists in the art industry doing fantastic works with good story lines,
“The only thing that stands me out is my signature. There are some artists who make good sales with or without a stay of their own. Sometimes, it is not all about the signature but what value can your works add to the society.
“My works focus more on internal beauty and how they affect the society in different ways, positively and negatively, as the case maybe.”
Narrating his first experience when he spent over N10,000 to buy the materials, he says.
“Firstly, I enjoy spending money to buy materials for my works, because I spend money to get money. If I want a good result in whatever I am doing, I would spend money on it to produce that artwork that gives me joy at the end of the day. When I want to sell an artwork to a client, he/she sees the quality of the work and would be happy to buy it. My art is my investment, so I spend money to produce good artwork,” he says.
How does he determine the number of packs of fingernails to use in his works? The artist notes it can be measured if he is working on a commissioned job because he has an estimate that would enable him complete the job. If he is doing a non-commissioned job, he doesn’t have to draw out an estimate but all he needs to do is to work and buy more materials if the need arises for him to complete the job.
Austin Slam admits the hardest work he has ever done is entitled Joyful Expectation. Hear him, “It was my first time to handle the material, so I had to work hard both physically and mentally to understand what I was doing. My estimate for the work was wrong during that first time, but, now, I understand what I need for an artwork irrespective of the size.”
For Austin, the future is bright, “In the next five years or more, I want to exhibit my works side by side with great artists in the world. I want to hold exhibitions in big museums in United States of America, Canada, etcetera, where I will have a great and lasting impact,” he concludes.