SCULPTURAL ADVOCACY FOR NIGERIA: THE STRENGTH IN UNITY

Abstract

Nigeria is a country on Africa's western coast. It is a heterogeneous society with multifarious religious convictions and ethnic diversity. Nigeria's democratic system of governance is currently grappling with challenges that threaten to overwhelm its leadership, with ethnic and religious disparities among its citizens arguably the country's most pressing issue today. This necessitated the creation of a massive sculpture featuring a padlock and keys, with the goal of fostering unity among Nigerians. The project details the adopted approach, which used data, collected from primary and secondary sources, executed in the studio. The project resulted in the production of a colossal padlock and key sculpture, mounted at the sculpture garden of the Department of Fine Arts, University of Maiduguri. The study concluded that the mounting environment of a sculpture significantly influences its outcome. Finally, we recommend that sculpture scholars, both within and outside Nigeria, use sculpture as a tool to influence and cause change in society