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| The Man. The Mantra. |
Multi-talented isn’t a
word that should be thrown around. So pardon me as I slip it into the
description of this extremely creative, intelligent, forward-thinking, multi-talented
perfectionist that is the Nigerian gifted artist and architect in the making
Valentine Onah. The Graphic Chef as he likes to be known is a professional
designer capable of "cooking" up breath taking artworks, brand
identities and sustainable architectural designs. His brand, Eveonstudio is also known
as The Graphic Kitchen.
So what could possibly be
dream come true for this young man who seems to be on the track to having it
all? “I have a lot of dreams! I would love to see Eveonstudio stand out as a
recognisable, strong competitor in the field of art and design. I'm constantly
developing, learning and increasing my capacity to drive it. If I wake up one
day to realise my brand is suddenly nationally renowned, I think that would be
phase one of that dream come true”. A man with a plan. And that plan is diverse, rich and multi-faceted because what many people don’t know about this artist and architect-in-training is that he is also environmentally conscious, a trait that is too often undermined.
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Inspired
by Breath of life | Florence and the Machines
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He spoke in detail to me
about the importance of preserving the earth: “considering the rate of
environmental degradation resulting from our actions and decisions, if we don't
make conscious informed decisions today in the way we live and build there
might be no earth for the future generations”. Yet we can’t just blindly build
green and hope that this will somehow improve the environment. In order to
avoid criticisms that will surely come such as those put against wind turbines
that are supposedly killing off bald eagles in America, we must understand our
environment not just on a global scale but also on a local, site-specific scale
by recognising what works best where and why. When designing in such situations
then it is the job of the architect to “meet the needs of the user without
creating more negative impacts than necessary”.
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Charcoal on paper: Inspired by a photograph by Lee
Jeffries of a homeless man.
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But Valentine being the
ambitious young man he is takes it further, saying that minimising negative
impact shouldn’t be where the goal ends; we should also be consciously trying to contribute positively to the world around us. He believes that if this mantra
is accepted globally that we can restore the earth with a culmination of
seemingly small actions. “We all should be aware that earth is currently sick,
like an ill child. If we want her well again, we must do something other than
continue our habit of poisoning her”.
This is all well and good
but I’m sure many of my readers will be wondering like I was if this is
something achievable for Nigeria. Valentine believes it is God’s gift to the
motherland. He admits that if our aim is to finally shake the unreliable shackles
of the Nigerian power authority PHCN then the initial installation costs will
be high. However the money spent will be well worth it as we shouldn’t need to
worry about power in the end. “Solar power can be harnessed any were the sun
shines but wind power would require wind speeds in the area to reach a minimum
velocity”. Most Nigerians will tell you that wind and sunshine are things we have
in abundance. And he knows exactly how this can be achieved:
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Proposed Abuja Art Expo Centre: Inspired by the Eyo masquerade. Solar panels, three 50kw vertical axis wind turbines for alternative renewable energy. GRFP pipes around the roof for harvesting rainwater into the annex building, "Greenhouse" for treatment and reuse.
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“An economical approach
to natural alternative power will be incorporating inverters and batteries with
a few solar panels. The public power charges the batteries when available, if
unavailable your solar panels would supply power to charge them. The inverter
could be configured to supply power to only a few electrical outlets and
lighting fixtures (bulbs) to conserve energy when in use. Lastly the use of
energy star rated appliances should be promoted to cut down power consumption.
Your batteries would last longer that way”.
Seems complex but not
impossible. According to the budget office of the Federal Government of Nigeria
PHCN’s total capital for 2012 stood at over N51 billion (over $300 million). Surely
some of those funds could be directed towards giving Nigeria a more stable,
more environmentally friendly power alternative.
Beyond all that Valentine
seemed excited for the future of the Nigerian architectural scene. “I'm aware
that great and bold minds are emerging”. To him it is all a matter of getting
the right equipment to our shores and developing the skill set to harness them.
So where does that leave him? What will The Graphic Chef be cooking up five
years from now? “Breaking newer grounds in arts and designs. Actively
contributing in restoring earth with my environmental conscious designs. Engaged
with philanthropic commitments from the plenty God would have blessed me with.”
You know, the norm. Watch this space.
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Madiba. A Tribute: Graphite on Charcoal
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For more on The Graphic Chef’s latest recipes visit:
Twitter: twitter.com/eveonstudio
Instagram: eveon_val
Facebook
page: facebook.com/eveonstudio
