VISUAL REPRESENTATION AND PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF TRANSPORTATION CHAOS IN LAGOS-BASED CONTEMPORARY ART
Keywords:
transportation chaos, visual artists, non-artists, painting, public perception, LagosAbstract
Lagos is characterised by rapid population growth, severe infrastructural pressure and persistent congestion across its road and water transportation systems. These conditions have become important subjects in the works of contemporary Lagos-based visual artists who use painting to document, interpret and critique the everyday experience of mobility in the city. This study examined how transportation chaos is visually represented in selected paintings and how non-artists perceive these representations. The study adopted a qualitative, exploratory design. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, key informant interviews, focus group discussions, observation and textual analysis of selected paintings produced by Festus Adeyemi, Bolaji Ogunwo, Ishola Matthew, Dolapo Ogunnusi, Abiodun Olaku, Gbenga Orimoloye, Aderinsoye Aladegbongbe and Kazeem Mumin. Thirty-two paintings were purposively selected, with four works drawn from each artist. The findings show that reckless driving, traffic obstruction, commuter impatience, verbal abuse and the excesses of law enforcement agents were the dominant forms of transportation chaos represented in the selected paintings. The artworks also captured the periodicity of chaos, especially during peak movement on roads and waterways. Non-artists interpreted the paintings as realistic portrayals of their daily struggles and as symbolic commentaries on civic disorder in Lagos public space. However, public access to such paintings remains limited because many of the works are held in private collections rather than displayed in accessible public spaces. The study concludes that Lagos-based contemporary paintings provide a valuable visual archive of urban transportation disorder and serve as interpretive tools for understanding mobility, public behaviour and civic regulation in Lagos.
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