An artist from Cameroon who ran away from home, dropped out of school and then joined the British Army, has put together an autobiographical exhibition detailing his journey as an “underdog”.
The exhibition, entitled The Journey of the Underdog, is presented by the Knight Webb Gallery in Brixton, south London.
It concentrates on artist Adjani Okpu-Egbe’s inner world and psyche as narrative for his paintings.
From growing up in Cameroon, Central West Africa, which is often referred to as the melting pot of African culture, to working in the British Army for five years, Okpu-Egbe has had the opportunity to travel the world and work with people from varied backgrounds.
The artist’s cultural disposition together with his academic background – he studied archeology, history of political thought and international relations at The University of Buea - lead him to question his surroundings.
He is now “eager” to use his artwork to recount some of the challenges he has encountered on his journeys so far - especially to the minorities, the disadvantaged or as he prefers to call it, “the underdogs”.
Okpu-Egbe ran-away from home at 14 and then abandoned school when he was just 16 years old.
Nevertheless, he still managed to study and pass his exams with enough points to obtain a place at university.
“The underdog is often associated with someone or a group of people whose socio-political and or cultural disposition is regarded as an inclination to underachievement or complete failure,” the artist explained.
“I look more at the strength in every weakness, and in the case of the underdog, that strength spurs them on towards the realisation of their goals.”
The artist, who lives in London, continued: “The fact that very little or nothing is expected from the underdog means they have very little to lose and this in turn should evoke in them a relentless spirit to give their all to whatever cause they are exposed to.”
Okpu-Egbe often uses materials as a metaphor for his feelings, illustrating his state of mind at the time of creation. Bubble wrap, for example, is used to describe a delicate state of being.
He added: “The paintings in this exhibition are a celebration of the work of an underdog who navigates cultures to document the socio-political and economic plight of underdogs anywhere and the naivety of some of the privileged ‘top dogs’ everywhere.”
