8 Questions with O. Yemit Tubi (MOYAT)

O Yemi Tubi (MOYAT), a Nigerian born, American trained Artist, featured in Al-Tiba9 Original.

Currently residing in the United Kingdom as an artist with a creative and unique personal style. He paints in acrylic and watercolor, but his favored medium is oil paints. Most of Moyat's recent paintings were influenced by the political and social upheaval of our world today and the works of the Renaissance artists.

The uprising in the Arab world is what influenced O Yemi Tubi's first political painting "ARAB REVOLUTION" in 2012. "THE EAGLE HAS LANDED" was done to speak about American led war on terror. He likes to use the portrait paintings to tell the stories about his subjects as did with the portrait of Professor Wole Soyinka, 1986 Nobel Prize Winner in Literature in painting "SOYINKA: A Literary Icon," "PORTRAIT OF AN ARTIST" and the "THE VIOLINIST." Moyat's works progress from political paintings to paintings of the facts of life of people. He first used Roses and Thorns in his political painting -"THE BLEEDING ROSES," since then he adopted Roses and Thorns as his unique style in some of his artworks like "DOMESTIC ABUSE," GELE (African Head Wrap): Vintage and Modern, SENSUALITY1: Pain and Pleasure and others

O. Yemi's works were awarded 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 6th places in political commentaries in American Art Awards from 2014 to 2017. He was recipient Golden Award with cash award in 2014 Master of Art International exhibition by Margarita Feaks Gallery, UK. He also received First Round Award with cash in Art Olympia 2015 International Open exhibition in Tokyo Japan. O. Yemi's works have been published in several newspapers, magazines and art books. His works was published in www.Huffingtonpost.com. "World's Best political Painters" and "World's Best celebrity Portrait Artists. His interview and some of his were published in Africa.com.

www.o-yemi-tubi.pixels.com | @oyemit

Interviewed by Mohamed Benhadj.

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Kabiyesi Oba Obama (Unquestionable King Obama), O. Yemit Tubi (MOYAT)©

How would you define yourself as an artist?

I will define myself as an Artist and Advocate for the world’s Peace. I am an artist that is not contented to copy nature but rather uses nature to create my reality. I am an artist that likes to use my works to evoke and provoke emotions and feelings. I am an artist that likes to use my works to advocate positive change in the political and social life of this present world and the world after.

What kind of education or training helped you develop your skillset?

I was born in Nigeria. For the first 26 years of my life, I obtained life education and academic educations. In my primary education, I excelled in arts and crafts; my love of arts often gave me passing grades to advance to the next class. Unfortunately, I did not have the opportunity to study arts in secondary school. Consequently, I could not secure admission to any university in Nigeria to study arts. One has to have arts as one of the subjects passed with a secondary school certificate to gain admission. Fortunately for me, this was not the case with the USA system. I got admission to two universities in the USA based on my art portfolio. My study in the USA exposed me to the works of many Renaissance artists that used speak about the political upheaval of their world. The famous French Revolution’s painting by Eugène Delacroix – 1830 – “Liberty Leading the People” influenced my first political painting “The Arab Revolution” in 2012 at the wake of Arabs’ Spring. It turned out to be Arabs’ nightmare as the nightmare is still ongoing in Libya, Syria, and Yemen. In the middle of my painting, the woman leading the Arab Revolution with hand raised high clenching a Blackberry mobile phone, not a gun to depict peaceful demonstrations like the woman in Eugene Delacroix’s work of 1830 held up French’s flag.

Your work “Kabiyesi Oba Obama (Unquestionable King Obama)” is among the original works published in the ORIGINAL issue, which expands on the love and hate relationship of President Obama and Donald Trump of America. Please, tell our readers about the symbology of your painting.

Yes. This is a political satire painting based on the love and hate relationship between President Obama and Donald Trump of America. It was created with many symbols. The symbology of my painting “Kabiyesi Oba Obama (Unquestionable King Obama)” starts with President Obama's name. The first three letters in Obama are OBA, which in my native language, Yoruba, means KING. In the Yoruba Kingdom, and many Africans Kingdoms, Oba (King) is revered as next to God/gods, and no mortal person, regardless of his or her position and wealth, dare to question the Oba/King. The consequence of the act of questioning the Oba/King often leads to beheading. Many people in the world must have seen Donald Trump as “Mr. MMB – the Motor-Mouth-Billionaire,” the nickname that I gave him. This man loves self-idolization of himself, and he so deluded that he thinks he is “Mr. Good Guy” and that his own opinion is better than other people’s opinions in the world. He knows better than the Pope, and his opinion is better than the World Health Organisation on tackling the present on-going pandemic. With his big mouth, he dared to question the USA citizenship of the unquestionable King Obama, which may lead to losing his head in a Monarchy system of government.

Many people tagged President Obama as the first African American President, which is why I chose to link President Obama to his African heritage by painting him with the Regalia of a Yoruba King. Oba Obama is holding his office staff with his right hand, which is close to the fox's mouth on the left side of the painting. This means that Oba Obama uses his staff of authority to seal off the barking mouth of Fox TV, which was used for the anti-Obama campaign.

On the right side of the painting is Mr. MMB - Donald Trump, on his knees, pleading with Oba Obama for his life. Between him and Oba Obama is a chest of dollars that he is offering in exchange for his life. Behind him is the execution ax resting on wooden execution block, ready to swing into action at the command of Oba Obama. In the middle of the chained Fox TV and Donald Trump is Oba Obama, standing and smiling majestically, acknowledging the accolade and admiration of the crowds that are also shouting “Off with his head.”

How have your political paintings evolved over time?

At the beginning of my career as a professional visual artist, I thought I might run out of subjects or ideas for my works. My fear of running out of ideas quickly subside as the world’s current affairs often supply me with ideas for my works. My political paintings evolved from the “Arab Revolution” to “The Eagle has Landed,” which speaks about American and Western governments’ excuse to destroy Iraq and his people, giving birth to the Islamic state. The evolvement of my political paintings led to the creation of two of my thought-provoking works “Hunger in the Land of Plenty” and “AFRICAN’T: Africans cannot say no to Exploitation.” These paintings are about exploitation and re-colonization of African people which China as a new colonial master in Africa. I did many paintings to advocate better treatment for the most beautiful people of the human race – Women like “Domestic Abuse,” “Sensuality1: Pain and Pleasure” SENSUALITY2: The Abuse of Swazi’s Queens and “The Glamour and the Sexual Abuse in Hollywood.”

Can you share a bit about the process of translating your figurative paintings into a straightforward political message?

Was I translating my figurative paintings into a straightforward political message? I often have a political message in mind before I start a project. Still, in the case of one of my paintings – “The Fishers of men,” I initially have in my mind to create a figurative painting of Biblical theme with the contemporary subject. While I was planning this, the news of the horror of immigrants from Africa and Syria drowning in the Mediterranean Sea hit the airwaves. Seeing Italian coast guards fishing out African immigrants – the victims of human trafficking. From the sea and an iconic image of Syrian drowned baby being carried by Turkish police from coast resort of Bodrum (one of the Syrian drowned as they attempted to reach Greek island of Kos) which influenced the title of this painting – “The Fishers of Men.” “Come, follow Me, Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew Chapter 4, verse 19 (Holy Bible) This was the words the Lord Jesus said to His disciples as an invitation to follow Him.

You live in Dagenham, UK, how do gallerists and visitors interact with your work? Do you expect the same interaction if it happens in the US?

The gallerists and visitors in the UK and USA appreciations of my works are the same. There are more galleries and opportunities for artists in the US. My works won many awards from American Art Awards from 2014 to 2019 in annual international competitions juried by 25 galleries in the USA.

How do you see the project evolving in the next five years?

As a person of faith, with God’s enablement, I pray my works will attract more art collectors and global recognition in the next five years. I hope to have my works with prominent galleries to sell my works.

What obstacles do you face in making and exhibiting your work?

Due to the pandemic lockdown, many of my exhibitions local and international were canceled. Before the pandemic, making sales and selling of my works are very tough. Some of the obstacles are the galleries and art auction houses promoting what are not arts like “A banana with duct-taped sold for $120,000.00 while serious artists like me are still battling day and night to get adequate recognition. Banksy will do a stencil artwork of one color or two like graffiti on the wall, and they become the talk in the art world. This is because Banksy has already made a name for himself, and he does not need the money.

What are you working on now? Anything exciting you can tell us about?

I have created two paintings influenced by the current pandemic. “It is Finished! The Stone is Rolled Away,” in which I equated coronavirus to the stone that was rolled away from the Lord Jesus Christ’s tomb on Easter Sunday. I used this painting as an optimistic prediction that the stone of coronavirus will soon be rolled away. The social life of the world will be resurrected from the tomb of coronavirus lockdown. The painting was donated to raise funds to support the British National Health Service (NHS). My painting was one of the works sold in an auction that raised £17,000.00 for the NHS. The second painting is “The Big Apple SOS,” done in solidarity with people of New York, the city that recorded the highest death tolls of the coronavirus victims in the world.

I just finished my recent painting “The Mother” – my tribute to all mothers.

I will be starting another painting this week – “Lest We Forget” – a tribute to the NHS and other people on the frontline of the battle against coronavirus.

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