The Conversation (3 Pieces)

Bisi Fakeye was a 5th generation wood carver from the prestigious Fakeye lineage of wood carvers born in Ila-Orangun in 1942. Bisi learned and practiced as an apprentice under his uncle, Lamidi Fakeye, the master wood carver and the best recorded in the family history. He had little formal education finishing at Teachers’ Training College. He abandoned teaching to focus completely on carving. In 1968, he relocated to Lagos and joined the Universal Studio of Arts (U.S.A), one of the oldest studio groups in the nation’s visual art, at the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos as one of its foundation members. Having learned from his uncle at Ila-Orangun, Osun state, Bisi built his fame on the existing reputation and carving history of the Fakeye lineage. Upon arriving Lagos, he mixed and interacted with formally-trained colleagues, built a commercial base and quickly became part of the thriving Lagos art scene which attracted a lot of global attention and exposure to his art. His style which was typical of the modern traditional composition of his Fakeye lineage had a blends of very contemporary themes, ideologies, and activities. His art in the last 10 years of his life was unique for its richness in contemporary composition and texture.

In The Conversation (3 Pieces), Bisi uses abstract representations of what looks like 3 young ladies as metaphors to explore a contemporary idea of chit-chatting sisters/friends. The pieces look very similar with minimal differences in height. The necks are stretched while faces are all painted black. A staring inquisitive mind would want to think and try to guess what these women could possibly be talking about.