By Amara Iwuala

“Look for What Stands You Out Artistically” – Adebimpe Adebambo

Adebimpe Adebambo studied General Art at the Ibadan Polytechnic and specialized in Painting at the Yaba College of Technology. She discusses Art with Amarachukwu Iwuala.

Adebimpe is fascinated by colours, having grown up in a household where the love for the arts, culture and environment was very evident.  Though her parents studied foreign and local languages in the university, her mother, who retired as a Vice Principal in a secondary school, also did tie-dye for sale and to beautify their home.

“Growing up with tie-dye curtains in the house made a deep impression on me.  My mum taught us to knit, made us cut out our favourite cartoons from newspapers, which were then made into albums, and she bought us hobby books too.  I remember a particular one called Get Busy, Get Better, which contained a lot of crafts that children could learn while convalescing.

“I was seven years old when I made a hand-sewn dress from my father’s old tunic.  I wore the dress with pride and was lauded for my efforts.  I wanted to settle for a course in the sciences since I was a science student and really loved Physics.  I also toyed with the idea of studying Architecture because I also love buildings and nature, but my father encouraged me to study Fine Arts, given the fact that I loved to draw from a tender age.

“Again, I liked the challenge of studying Fine Arts like Painting and Sculpture as opposed to Applied Arts like Graphics, Ceramics and Textiles.  I haven’t painted much on canvas, paper or board in the past few years, but have done some paintings on fabrics through my fashion line – Beampeh – where I have practised my ‘wearable art.’  I plan to stage a comeback to painting on traditional surfaces this year, hopefully.  So, let’s say this interview will be the motivation.”

Adebimpe has worked in galleries owned by great artists and art connoisseurs like Segun Adejumo, Chike Nwabogwu and Oliver Enwonwu.  She informs me that she has been selling and helping friends to sell artworks since she was in art school, so working in galleries helped in consolidating that practice.

In 2004, she did a solo exhibition, where she displayed all the paintings, photographs, fashion items and hand-made ambient lamps, which she produced that year.  She hopes to have another exhibition of her ambient lamps and paintings soon.

Apart from working as a visual artist, Adebimpe is also a photographer, fashion designer as well as an up-and-coming filmmaker.  Her debut job as a costume designer on the set of Dazzling Mirage(2014), produced and directed by renowned film-maker Tunde Kelani, got her nominations in the Costume Design categories at the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCA) and Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) in 2015.

“In 2017, I rewrote, produced and directed an experimental animation short film, Tejumade.  The story was written in 1994 and I sent it to Walt Disney to produce, but they graciously replied in 1997 – I still have the letter – saying that they don’t produce other people’s work.  They also wished me luck.

The current version of the film has been to several film festivals around the world and has been seen by thousands of children and adults alike.  I am currently working on a storybook and a series of the same title.”

Adebimpe, who says that her worst experience as an artist was when she was defrauded of a large sum of money while trying to get a studio space, has a few words for new artists, “Be true to yourself, don’t do something because everyone is doing it.  Look for what stands you out artistically.”

Instagram: @adebimpea

Twitter: @ADEBIMPEADEBAMB

Facebook: Beampeh Wearable Art

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