Akin Fakeye (
né
The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...
Akinlabi Fakeye; born 1936), is a Nigerian artist who works in the medium of
wood carving
Wood carving (or woodcarving) is a form of woodworking by means of a cutting tool (knife) in one hand or a chisel by two hands or with one hand on a chisel and one hand on a mallet, resulting in a wooden figure or figurine, or in the sculpture, ...
.
Biography
Fakeye was born in 1936 in
Ila Orangun
Ìlá Òràngún (or Ila) is an Ancient history, ancient city in Osun State, Nigeria, that was the capital of an ancient city-state of the same name in the Igbomina area of Yorubaland in south-western Nigeria. Ìlá Òràngún is more populous th ...
,
Osun state
Osun (; ), is a state in southwestern Nigeria; bounded to the east by Ekiti and Ondo states for 84 km and for 78 km respectively, to the north by Kwara State for 73 km, to the south by Ogun State for 84 km and to the wes ...
, Nigeria. The Fakeye family is a multigenerational group of
Yoruba sculptors.
His father, Adewuyi Oguntunde Fakeye, was a master carver. As was tradition, Akin Fakeye was taught the art of carving by his father. Upon the death of his father, Akin went into apprenticeship under his brother Lamidi Fakeye from 1958–1967. He established himself in his own studio in 1968. Since that time, he has worked on a number of collaborations with his brother and has also trained twenty apprentices, including Ayo Bankole and his own sons, Jimoh Fakeye, Sulaiman Fakeye, Akeem Fakeye and
Lukman Fakeye. All four of his sons are now professional carvers in their own right and have established their own studios.
Akin Fakeye was one of founding members of the
Oyo State Woodcarver Association, which is an association set up to further the appreciation of quality woodcarving to a wider audience and also help develop a new generation of master carvers.
Collections
Akin Fakeye works can be found in some private collections all over the world. He has the following exhibitions to his credit:
*Mansah Gallery, Banjul, Gambia;
*Osun Osogbo Annual Festival,
Osun Osogbo;
*Africraft Art Agelery;
*Megamurth Impression Art Gallery;
*Aafak Art Gallery;
*Royal Nether Land Embassy – Abuja;
*Sheraton hotel & towers – Abuja;
*Ibadan art gallery;
*German cultural institute;
*African Studies Department University of Ibadan
References
External links
Carvings by Akin Fakeye and further information about him and the rest of his family can be found in the following references:
*http://www.grainsofafrica.com
*https://web.archive.org/web/20070721002655/http://www.grainsofafrica.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=36_38
*http://www.folkcuba.com/botanica_ht/fakeye_hmge1.html
*http://www.mnh.si.edu/africanvoices/gallery/lamidi/meet_the_artist.html
*http://grains-of-africa.blogspot.com/2008/09/traditional-modern-yoruba-art-fakeye.html
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fakeye, Akin
20th-century Nigerian sculptors
21st-century Nigerian sculptors
Nigerian woodcarvers
1936 births
Living people
Yoruba artists
People from Osun State