A SYNTHESIS OF GBAGYI FEMALE FORMS AND THEIR SYMBOLS IN SCULPTURE

Abstract

The Gbagyi people over the years have developed and sustained an enduring culture where the women carry the load on their shoulders; this has drawn the attention of various artists showing that the female forms remain an interesting theme for exploration in sculpture. Therefore, the problem of this study is the synthesis of Gbagyi female forms and their symbols in sculpture. Three objectives that led to the studio explorations were captured in this study. The first objective was to produce different representational postures of Gbagyi female forms in three-dimensional form, secondly; to create stylised sculptures of Gbagyi female forms and lastly, to synthesise the Gbagyi female forms and their symbols in sculpture. This study is justified because it has incorporated the Gbagyi traditional female forms with their material culture into abstract sculpture. The end of this study will give a new perspective to the Gbagyi female forms in abstract sculpture and will visually document the Gbagyi female forms and their cultural symbols in three dimensions as an act to further buttress the existing relationship between sculpture and culture. This research is rooted in the concept of “Natural Synthesis” fussing two or more forms, components, symbols and concepts into one piece. To the knowledge of the researcher, there is a gap in an attempt to synthesise Gbagyi female forms and their symbols into abstract sculpture while there appears to have been no attempt by sculptors to synthesise these forms in sculpture and documented.