By Chris Onuoha

Rauf Thompson is one of the pioneer students of Yaba College of Technology, Arts Department in the 70s. Having trained under the great masters like Prof. Yusuf Grillo and others, he practiced painting for a while and went into teaching as arts teacher for many years. He was also an education administrator with Lagos State Government before moving into advertising as a practitioner.

Rauf Thompson

Undaunted by what may be called a temporary distraction, he paints in his home studio and has exhibited severally to show he never gets tired of his first love: painting.

One unique thing about Thompson is he stands as a bridge between the old and young artists by the type of works he produces. Some of his works tell stories of life, event, environment and social life around his neighborhood. In one of his collections that spanned decades, you could see works done in the 1970s, 80s, 90s and even currently in the year 2016.

If you peep into his studio at his home in Ilasamaja, Mushin, you would notice a painting of Tafawa Belewa Square (TBS) done in 1974 in its original form called Race Course with real horse driven by the colonial masters then.

“Art as a profession should be seen beyond drawing and painting,” says Thomson, “it should be used to solve social and economic problems of a nation in terms of visual and communication perception as a powerful tool.”