Everything we do is political. The way we carry on in life is very conscious, so why shouldn’t art that mirrors a society be political? Art is social and political at the same time. Even decorative art expresses the wishes of a segment of society, which is definitely politically conscious no matter a presumption of innocence or nonchalance.
Lemi
Have the social or political messages Lemi explored in his artwork changed over time? Let’s see what Lemi has to say:
You know in life, they say, the more things change – the more they remain the same. Things have gone awry and worse since when I was designing for Fela Kuti back in the 1970s but the picture of the bitchiness of life has not changed, it is helping to iconise Fela Kuti as a prophet. Everything he spoke about 30 years ago is screening and rolling in 3D slow motion…more evidently so than when he was shouting himself hoarse decades ago. In the same vein, my work has become more meaningful today. People are beginning to appreciate the bravado of it when it was done. Sometimes I feel apocalyptic!
Art's Own Kind 