Bringing Your Vision to the World:
The Journey of Scottdudu
The Great Odyssey:
Journey Through the Sahara
Donatus Ugo, also known as Scottdudu, is a singer, painter, and metal sculptor born in Nigeria into a humble family. The third of 7 siblings and the first to pursue higher education, he learned mechanics for two years at the trade school until he convinced his parents that his true calling and passion was Art.
Thanks to the financial effort to save and a loan granted to his mother, he managed to enroll in the School of Art and Design at Auchi Polytechnic University. Here he began his forays into sculpture, taking his first steps with volumes, spaces, and different materials.
However, due to the financial instability his family faced, he abandoned this academic training to embark on an epic journey that would last a year and a half, crossing the Sahara Desert on foot.
Biographical Review
Back to Civilization: Rabat
A few weeks later, he arrived in Rabat on foot. As a relentless hustler, he quickly sought work and learned the profession of boot cleaner. In this city, he started his new trade in front of the police station's door to avoid being extorted and robbed by thugs. During this stage of his life, saving some money was a hard and almost impossible task as he was often mugged at night.
However, his luck changed the day a Spanish gentleman, whose shoes he had cleaned, left his wallet with money, ID, driver's license, and health card next to him. When the gentleman returned looking for his wallet, Scott returned it intact. The Spaniard was so grateful that he decided to help him.
Two days later, he picked him up in a car and drove him to the port. There, he spent two nights until the Spaniard secured him a passage on a flimsy raft to cross the strait to Spain.
The Overcrowded Dinghy
Scottdudu, who couldn't swim, found himself having to reach the dinghy far from the shore, diving into the sea and clinging to a roped line tied to the boat.
When the water reached his chin, he lost consciousness, and upon waking up, another miracle! He was still alive. He kept wondering: How did he get inside the plastic dinghy? How were they suddenly all on board and at sea?
After many days huddled in a corner, afraid of falling overboard and drowning like many who fell and were left behind, he was rescued near Algeciras by the Red Cross and the Civil Guard, who offered blankets, food, and drinks.
Málaga: City of Children
Once on solid ground and due to his physical build, malnutrition, and language barrier, he was mistaken for a minor by customs authorities and humanitarian organizations. He was transferred, along with a dozen mothers with newborns, to the City of Children reception center.
There, passing himself off as a teenager, he remained sheltered by educators and psychologists for two years.
In this center, he immersed himself in learning Spanish and developing his artistic skills until at the Spanish age of 18, he embarked on another journey; Barcelona.
Validation and Artistic Development in Spain
Once in Barcelona, to continue his training, he took a course in plastic arts and design in metal sculpting techniques subsidized by Caritas.
After its completion, he returned to Málaga, where he decided to validate his initial studies in mechanics and complete his vocational training. During this period as a student, he had an epiphany; he realized and became aware that with vehicle parts, he could create any type of metal structure.
It was then that he decided to focus on the metallurgical sector, dedicating himself exclusively to creating sculptures using metal materials, leaving aside those he had used in his artistic stage at the polytechnic in Nigeria (cement, clay, plastic, metal sheets, fiberglass, etc.)