_{Unheard Voices: Obi Ekwenchi and Tobenna Okwuosa}

by

_{Ndumbuisi Ezeluomba}

_{I Introduction}

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_{Traditional African life started undergoing significant transformation in the nineteenth century.  Christianity engineared the decline of traditional worship, and with it, traditional art, was described as fetish.  Western education, western-made industrial materials and commerce made Africans abandon their traditional crafts, and the apprenticeship systems that served as their lifeline, for white collar jobs, which provided waged labour.  These influences, and colonialism, stifled the practice of African sculpture, especially works produced mainly for religious purposes.  Africans began to see their traditional ways of life often branded primitive and inferior by their colonial masters as a result.  Early self-motivated Nigerian artists such as Aina Onabolu (1881?-1963), Akinola Lasekan (1921-1972), Ben Ewonwu (1921-1994), Clara Etso Ugbodaga and Afi Ekong were trained abroad, mostly at the Slade School of Art in London, and their arts were initially western, as a consequence of their education.  Later, political consciousness and experimentation made western-trained artists to look to their roots for additional sources of inspiration.}

_{Furthermore, the growth and development of missionary schools in Nigeria from the 1920s gave new forms of art, both in content and approach.  It was at this time that the activities of Aina Onabolu became dominant in the creative scene.  Individual and institutional efforts, including by Europeans and the establishment of formal art schools have since given rise to new forms and artists.}

_{This essay investigates the rise of contemporary Nigerian art, focusing on two artists, Ekwenchi Obi and Tobenna Okwuosa, who have remained consistent in their adaptation of traditional concepts, but have not been appreciated for their creative muscle by the larger exhibiting space.}

_{II The rise of contemporary Nigerian art}

_{What are the roots of contemporary Nigerian art?}

_{Contemporary or modern Nigerian art emanated out of the need to arrest the eclipse of foreign influences on indigenous culture.  For Ola Oloidi, a determination to debunk the notion that African artists cannot match their western counterparts was integral to the introduction of contemporary art in Nigeria.  Some western-trained artists, like Ewonwu, later experimented with traditional art forms such as the masks from the eastern parts of the country.  Onabolu did not repudiate tradition, but rather had a deeper craving to experiment.  Oloidi believes that his success testifies to the talent and strong will of an individual induced by a nationalistic urge to discredit the derogatory and usually racist caricature of the African and his inability to be creative in the European sense.}

_{Onabolu began his career painting portraits of eminent members of the ruling class of the era, even including the colonial officials in Lagos.  Later, in 1922, Onabolu wrote Nigeria’s art curriculum, and was responsible for the secondment of British artist Kenneth C Murray to facilitate the rapid development of this new education.  Artists who emerged from the tutelage of Onabolu, Murray and their repertoire form an important nucleus of contemporary Nigerian art.}

_{Workshops and training centres}

_{From the 1920s to 1950s, efforts to resuscitate traditional art were made at home by some Europeans and Nigerians through an increasing number of workshops and training centres.  Prominent among these workshops were the ones at Igbesamwan in Benin, and the 1947 Roman Catholic Workshop at Oye Ekiti.  The Benin Carvers’ Guild at Igbesamwan encouraged many palace boys (Omada) to take up carving as a profession, and due to their efforts, the guild grew into a co-operative society, and still flourishes today.  The Roman Catholic Workshop organised by Carroll and Mahoney to encourage the revival of aspects of indigenous Nigerian art also flourished.  It was here that Lamidi Fakeye, the great Yoruba carver, was discovered.  There were also the Ori-olokun workshop organised by the art department of the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) and the Oshogbo workshop of 1969, among others.  One of the centres established to revive traditional Nigerian art at that time was the Abuja Pottery Centre that brought Late Ladi Kwali, the potter extraordinaire, to fame.}

_{Formal art schools}

_{Significant, too, are the formal schools established in the country from 1953.  The Nigerian Arts and Crafts College, which became the Fine Art Department at Ahmadu Bello University Zaria in 1955, was the first university art department in the country.  This was followed by Yaba College of Technology in 1953, which was created to facilitate the training of middle-scale manpower to meet the growing need for such resources and the Fine Art Department of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, established in 1961.  There has since been a growth in the number of universities, polytechnics and colleges of education teaching art in Nigeria.}

_{Didactic art}

_{It is well known that contemporary Nigerian artists are not always college-trained.  There is also the informal or workshop artist and the popular or urban artist (self-taught).  These artists are conscious that society is watching them, and are mindful of the immediate environment which influences them and their works.}

_{Post-colonialism}

_{After the dismantling of colonialism in the socio-political arena, art, science and technology quickly became the next alleyways to the heart of Africa, veritable tools for promoting neo-colonialism, although C K Ikwuemesi anchors his argument on the fact that African art (Nigeria inclusive) has gone through a series of defacements, arriving at a stage where what is left is a “hybrid”, as artists have adapted traditional art practice that was thought to be gradually disappearing.  C O Adepegba corroborates Ikwuemesi’s view, but goes further to state that in contemporary African and Nigerian art, the present is generally overshadowed by the past.  Artists’ creative zeal reveals a constellation of adaptation and appropriation of forms and concepts, even style gleaned from traditional art.}

_{Forging a new identity}

_{According to C K Ikwuemesi, the terminology of the various art movements can be likened to what Roland Barthe in 1968 referred to as a multi-dimensional space where words meet and clash because, since the impressionist period and early modernism, art has progressed from ‘ism’ to ‘ism’ following the fleeting whims of the western avant-garde}

_{Several Nigerian artists who graduated with honours from western-styled schools initially refused to use the positive aspects of tradition in their art.  Later, though, they have revisited tradition while still maintaining dialogue with contemporary events to envision new art, without alienating their international clientele.  Bruce Onobrakpeya, Yusuff Grillo, Erabor Emokpae, Demas Nwoko, Uche Okeke and others create poignant messages not only for their immediate socio-cultural backgrounds They, like artists elsewhere round the world, are preoccupied by and comment on socio-economic issues within and outside their milieu.  As well as mastering the use of western media, these artists are developing local materials.  Examples of such works in the Nucleus catalogue of the National Gallery of Modern Art in Lagos include:}

_{-          No More Aggression, H David West’s comment on the need for the Nigerian state to eschew aggression that tends to destabilise the nation and cause chaos and discord;}

_{-          Romance of the Head load 11.  Solomon Wangboje comments on the traditional haulage method of the northern women.  Women emerge carrying calabashes on their heads;}

_{-          Ben Ewonwu’s Negritude, an oil painting which comments on African consciousness and the need for the black man to rise above all odds that stand as impediments to him;}

_{-          Shortage of Water, an oil painting by Obiora Udechukwu, comments on the deplorable nature of the water supply board in some parts of the country;}

_{-          Mother and Child, by Yusuff Grillo, explains the affection that exists between the African mother and her child;}

_{-          Humble Giver, by Bisi Fakeye.}

_{In these elemental compositions one cannot bypass the worries of the artists as their emotions are very glaring and easily deducible.  Using quite simple imagery and themes, these artists express their innermost distaste for the country’s poor and sometimes dismal social, economic and political reality.}

_{According to Odutokun, contemporary Nigerian artists have a variety of approaches in dealing with the problem of forging such identity as might be appropriate to their ethnic, racial or regional circumstances.  These approaches include going back to tradition to extract some elements and to skilfully include the experiences derived from cultural heritage with current issues to chart a new course in their artistic production.  To him, the earliest and main source of inspiration for contemporary Nigerian artists is their individual experience and acquaintances, important events, prominent people, as well as their own social lives and world views.  Unuode contends that contemporary Nigerian artists are increasingly preoccupied with interest in technical innovation and experiments, which at times have led them to abandon some conventional media.  He cites the example of Gani Odutokun, whose application of colours convinces him that he is a colourist.  Odutokun freely adapts past events (at times proverbs or folktales) into his works.}

_{III Individual artists}

_{Art historians deal with a number of criteria, as Sieber reminds us in the introduction to the exhibition catalogue African art in the cycle of life (1989).  They may study the style or form of the work and how the forms change over time.  They may deal with the artists, techniques, patronage, iconography, or the role of art in the place and time of its origin.  We know, too, that sometimes art historians deal with the objects out of their time, as with the impact that classical works had on the Renaissance or African art had on the early twentieth century.}

_{Although C O Adepegba has classified contemporary African art in four styles, it is difficult to categorise contemporary Nigerian artists, who have limitless concepts and diverse techniques, in any simple way.  Nigerian artists also go back and forth on styles over time.  For example, Kunle Filani seeks to project the reality and experiences of his environment in different media, and has multiple ideas, themes and styles in his works.  In his 2003 Vestigial Textures exhibition, we saw his propensity in the use of acrylic colours that he discovered and substituted with his equally vibrant oils.  Workshop-trained or auto-didactic (otherwise referred to as ‘roadside’) artists have displayed a lack of consistency, as the works of Muraina Oyelami show.  These artists often deviate from the styles that were their hallmark as time progresses.  This may be necessitated by their clientele, as artists are often forced to produce works that are suitable to the dictates of the patron or art collector who commissions them.  However, some of them deliberately diverge when they discover a new medium.}

_{This said, some artists, using the experiences they gather from their society, and inspiration from older artists, have built and maintained a particular style despite the changing demand and choice of their spectators and art connoisseurs.  These artists include Chris Afuba, Obiora Anidi, Nsikak Essien, Bona Ezeudu, Samson Uchendu, Damian Onyekuru and Ekwenchi Obi.  Exhibitions by contemporary Nigerian artists in the past and present are characterised by still life paintings, portraits, figural composition and a few seascapes.  For example, Joshua Akande’s main interest is landscapes and he seems to show social scenes and figure composition only as opportunities to include landscapes.  The consistency in Akande’s works is evident in his works documented in Nucleus.}

_{An artist such as Obiora Anidi produces works which are characterised by their organic and stylised quality (Aniakor). Anidi’s sculptures have attenuated forms with areas around the belly hollowed to allow him to insert coiled metal wires which endow the figures with an internal substance that give them life  Nsikak Essien is another artist who continues to experiment with mixed media.  His assertive works are quite bold in characteristics, and unique because of their direct execution in boards and canvas. For example, against a backdrop of pasted newspaper clippings laid out in uneven rhythms of anguish and pain is Armageddon.  In the work, disembodied figures emerge and confront the observer as if from the murky void of death.  Such a painting can be likened to a plastic comment on the sadness of the human condition in Nigeria, if not the tragic apotheosis of her death.  Essien’s recent works have experimented with Nigerian fabrics and his experiments in mixed media painting have helped him remain in the league of major contemporary Nigerian artists.}

_{Originally self-taught, and later college-trained, Chris Afuba’s sculptures are characterized by his control of concrete.  Among his works, The Only Son is a high point in sculptural description (Aniakor).  The subtle interlocking of forms, the details on the faces and the richness of the surfaces elevate his sculptures to a high level of aesthetic experience; these characteristics have also established his style.}

_{Bona Ezeudu’s works in the 1988 exhibition catalogue The Mind’s Eye are distinguished by abstractions beyond common understanding with social-economic themes. Rural Development, Burden of the Rural Women and Executive Prisoners are the focal points on which his entire works in the exhibition stand The consistency in his abstracted figures and his scenery painting, and his impasto technique with its chromatic effects, set him apart as an outstanding contemporary Nigerian artist.} 

_{Characteristic of the works of Clary Nelson Cole, a printmaker and painter, are elegantly composed cyclical designs, vibrant colours and technical virtuosity.  Akatakpo’s study of the works of Cole show that the artist loves using his art to comment on social themes.  His Motherhood, Sekere Player, Womanhood, The Singer and Family, attest to the artist’s virtuosity and prolific qualities, and highlight his consistency in exploring social themes.}

_{A look at through Nucleus shows that some artists have been consistent in the use of one form of artistic idiom, style and theme or another.  Erabor Emokpae’s works focus on Nigerian heroes and heroines, as his paintings - Queen Amina of Zaria, Sultan Mohammed of Sokoto and Herbert Macaulay (all oil on canvas) - testify.  However, his sculptures are a complete deviation from his paintings.  The pieces are abstract and comment on traditional Yoruba beliefs.  Examples of such works include Iya-Abiku and Iya-Ibeji, both Yoruba fertility figures.  Another artist who features in Nucleus is Kolade Oshinowo, a painter and graduate of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.  His works, a mixture of experiences and experiments, range from portraits of Nigerian personalities to scenery compositions.  His portrait of Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther is set against the open background of a field and a faintly rendered church.  In Ensembles, a group of musicians is returning home after a performance.  His Ritual Dance with its flame-like colours (gradation of brown, red and yellow) is suggestive of an artificially-lit shrine.  For Adepegba, each of Oshinowo’s exhibitions seems to result from a new experiment.}

_{Ademola Adekola, whose works rely on a distinctive style he has created for himself, also successfully draws inspiration from the past.  The works are characterised by linear art (taken from traditional architecture, textiles and body-markings) from different parts of Nigeria, as is also seen from the work of Okwuosa Tobenna in Figure 1 Maiden (Ada-mma).  Adekola uses these traditional motifs and patterns in all his works, irrespective of theme or medium.  Commenting on art exhibition held by Adekola in 1989, Adepegba notes:}

_{Contemporary African art reflect their background both in themes and forms, African ways of life values and ideals as well as contemporary local places, objects and events are in most cases vividly repeated in the artist’s individual ways and there are instance, though very few, where such themes are rendered in forms adapted from traditional arts.  Both tendencies can be seen in Adekola’s works on display and his outstanding ability shows in both (Harvest of Fruitful Season, 1989).}

_{Adekola’s numerous exhibitions have shown the tenacity with which he maintains his style.}

_{Apart from Anidi and Afuba, mentioned earlier, there are other college-trained sculptors such as Ndidi Dike and Olu Amoda.  Dike is fascinated with wood, and her exquisite panels show her mastery of the medium which she manipulates in two and or three dimensions.  Examples of her works are in the 2002 exhibition catalogue, Totems and Signposts.  Olu Amoda is a remarkable metal sculptor whose Visitors in Adepegba’s book Nigerian Arts: Its Tradition and Modern Tendencies (1995) shows the ingenuity with which he handles the medium.  The works of these artists show evidence of consistency in style.}

_{Ekwenchi Obi and Tobenna Okwuosa are artists who articulate happenings within their environment in their art.  Their works show consistency in style and technique.  This is a rare trait in an age when Nigerian artists are grappling with the problem of identity and adherence to a definite style.  Ekwenchi and Tobenna use traditional art and life as subjects and inspirations for their creativity.  Both have over the years made remarkable and ample use of indigenous forms, ideas and materials.}

_{Tobenna Okwuosa (1972)}

_{Born in Umuahia Abia State in 1972, Okwuosa graduated from the University of Benin with a degree in sculpture and later a MFA (master’s in fine art) in painting.  Okwuosa supports himself as an independent artist.  Since graduation he has featured in a number of exhibitions in Lagos, focusing constantly on themes adapted from traditional Igbo culture.  In January 2005, Okwuosa was accepted as an artist-in-residence at Worcester State College, where he exhibited a barrage of works that projects his ideas.}

_{When asked what he intends to accomplish in his art Okwuosa stated that:}

_{The first thing is that I see it as a calling; that I have been called to this profession, because I started manifesting my creative talent when I was very small.  And I see it as my mission on earth to be a creative person.  I have been developing myself, and I wish to use my art to expose and educate people on aspects of my culture that people do not understand – aspects of my culture, the traditional Igbo culture, that I need to celebrate.  I want to create the kind of art that can be described as multi-cultural – that draws from different experiences.  That expresses the modern world, without sacrificing my true identity as an African person} 

 _{Okwuosa’s inspiration from traditional Igbo culture, it is believed, is why he celebrates the importance of women in his works.  His insistence on focusing on motherhood, feminine aesthetics and values, and his tenaciousness to explore forms and styles around women, have enabled him to remain in the forefront of young Nigerian artists.}

_{Figures 3 to 5 focus on women with the Uli body decoration common in traditional Igbo culture.  These figures attest to Anatsui’s ideology that African writing traditions offer enough basis for re-writing the letters of Africa’s history in different parchments  .  Uli has been explored by a number of artists in Nigeria.  A group of the first set of graduates of the Nigerian College of Art and Science, now Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, decided as a matter of independence to refuse the acceptance of the instructions given in school and rather started creating work with ideas they got from traditional motifs and folktales.  This agitation gave rise to the introduction of the natural synthesis ideals that were championed by Uche Okeke, then secretary of the student body. This adaptation has since remained a recurring characteristic of artists in the Nigerian art scene.  Okwuosa’s adoption of these motifs in the decoration of his works is connected with this idea.}

_{Okwuosa explores the beauty of womanhood and woman’s role as the procreator of, and constant carer for, her offspring.  Figure 3 shows a mother’s happiness as a child-bearer.  Her gentle, protective affection towards the child is evident.  Figure 4 further emphasises the protective characteristics of a mother to her children. The balloon-like shapes represents her breasts, symbols of her fecundity.  Okwuosa uses colours to symbolize moods.  In Figure 3 the mother is serenely caressing her child and the admiration of the father is clear.  However, in Figure 4 when the atmosphere becomes dark, one full of uncertainties, the mother is seen protectively clinging to all her three children as if to guide them against harm and unwanted dangers.  Okwuosa’s works are truly the celebration of women, who are considered to play very vital and pivotal roles in the physical, mental and emotional growth of the child.}

_{Furthermore, Okwuosa has developed the technique of scroll painting.  This method was inspired by a group of artists concerned about carrying their installations to and from exhibition spaces.  With help of these scrolls, the artist is able to carry a reasonable quantity of works to a far destination, without disfigurement or destruction.}

_{Ekwenchi Obiefuna Chukwuka (1958)}

_{For Ezeluomba, Ekwenchi’s sculptures stand out as testimonies of his study of Greco-Roman Renaissance sculpture.  His works could also be said to be influenced by Henri Moore, the twentieth century English sculptor, which Ekwenchi readily accepts.  He equally draws inspiration from traditional forms and historical and social-economic scenarios.  His sculptures are both monumental and small, but with painstaking minute details.  Although the artist insists that the period spent on his creations is dictated by his temperament, each of his sculptural projects usually take about a year to complete.}

_{In his works it is quite difficult to bypass the Igbo philosophy that underlay the didactic nature of his emotions.  This he tries to imprint on the consciousness of his spectators.  However, his inspiration is usually dependent upon what spurs him at the time each work is created.  The preoccupation in Ekwenchi’s works is the relationship between form, space, line and finishing.  His forms can be referred to as an acceptable framework of expressions, and the various parts and their conscious arrangements in such a way that harmony is achieved.  The underlying Igbo philosophies that readily characterize the pieces are seen in figures 6 and 7.  In the works we see scarification running across diagonally, vertically and horizontally, and he maintains that these are his re-enactment of the Igbu-ichi, another name for Uli Igbo tradition.  Ekwenchi explores social and religious themes in his works.}

_{Like other contemporary artists Ekwenchi’s creativity was encouraged by his parents when he was a child.  However, his father wanted him to study a degree in architecture or medicine, which were the vogue.  He rather took to sculpture, which he was quick to liken to architecture.  He graduated with a distinction in sculpture in 1986 from the art department of the Institute of Management and Technology in Enugu, Nigeria.  He was retained to teach at the institute and since 1986 he has been in the lectureship of the art and design department, where he continues to explore his marble dust sculpture technique.}

_{He readily accepts that his works comment on the gradual decay of traditional institutions in the country.  Figure 6 The Weeping Gods is a typical example of this dilemma.  The infiltration of western values into the culture of Africans has debased these institutions and nothing seems to be able to eclipse this tendency.  The gods weep because they are not able to check these influences that have continually undermined their existence (Ekwenchi, 2002 pc).  Figure 7 The More You Look The Less You See are insights to the predicaments of the people of the nation.  The more they try to understand these problems, the more elusive the problems become, thus the title.  As a result of the multiplicity of problems endemic to the nation and the people’s inability resolve these, they resort to prayers and supplication, which they assume is the only path to having a better tomorrow.  The other two works entitled Revulsion (figs 9 and 10) acquiesce to his admiration of the woman figure.  Thus, in a way of exploring the female body, Ekwenchi is able to propagate the essence of women within his cultural milieu and one that Okwuosa readily hands out in his paintings.  Despite working from different parts of the country, Ekwenchi and Okwuosa have similar thematic consciousness, but express their individual creativity in painting (Okwuosa) and sculpture (Ekwenchi)..Ekwenchi has had a number of group and solo exhibitions in Nigeria.  He has won medals within Nigeria for his dedication and continuous practice, including the Golden Gong, a medal for the best creative artist from Anambra State in 1982 and the 1983 Rotary competition for the best artist in Enugu State.  But, like Okwuosa and a numerous number of his compatriots, his artistic muscle needs to be exhibited more widely.  They should be seen representing Africa and Nigeria at global art fairs.  And not the clique veneration that is seen in the art world, where only selected artists of African parentage who were born and trained in the west are made to represent Africa.}

_{IV Conclusion}

_{We have seen two artists’ creative prowess in conception and mastery of their themes and medium.  The images from these artists have shown the convergence of diverse sources and how these images are utilized as raw materials for the propagation of contemporary artistic practice in the Nigerian art scene.  While both artists are of different college backgrounds and operate from different locations within the country, they tend to converge at that point where, like Alarinjo Theatre, art is implanted in the theatre of life for the masses (the point of view of the popular artist) and as a private vision that soon becomes a public vision (the point of view of the academic artist).}

_{Put together, their works serve as aesthetic vectors for the retrieval our collective memory so that the visible is made legible and this visible is the cultural heritage that has been the repertoire of creative fecundity.}

_References

_{SAG stands for the Signature Art Gallery, Lagos}

_INTERVIEWS

_{Ekwenchi Obi, 25 September 2002 at the Institute of Management and Technology, Art Department, Enugu, and 27 January, 2003 at his residence, Trans Ekulu, Enugu.}

_{[1] According to Gilbert and McCarter, style in a broad sense is a characteristic or group of characteristics that we can identify as constant, recurring or coherent in particular to the visual arts, which indicates a series of choices an artist has made.  Artistic style can be viewed as the sum of constant recurring or coherent traits identified with a certain individual or group.  In painting for instance, a particular style could be composed of many elements such as the materials used, the types of brush strokes, the colour, the way the forms are handled, the choice of subject matter, the degree of resemblance to the natural world and so on.  Style, whether a characteristic of an artist or a period of art, is a focus of most art historians.}

_{[1] Discernible images of experiences and ideas, Naïve visions, encouraged and fossilised, Abstraction beyond common understanding and Revisitations and adaptations of traditional forms.}

_{[2] The Nucleus features select contemporary Nigerian artists, young and old.  The colourful illustrations and the vivid and lavish account that form the introduction make it the best exhibition catalogue and the first to be made in Nigeria with a diverse array of artists and artistic styles.}

_{[3] This was the response Okwuosa gave to the question Allen Fletcher of the Worcester magazine asked the artist on 14 April, 2005 and it coincides with the assumptions deduced by Adesanya when she analysed the creation of Ademola Adekola, who uses linear motifs from different parts of Nigeria to create his art.}

_{[4] Stanislaus, G. (1990) Contemporary African Art: Changing Traditions. New York, Studio Museum in Harlem.}

_{[5] The group of students that were responsible for this agitation have been referred to as the Zaria rebels.  They were the initiators and pioneers of the Nigerian Art Society that became the Society of Nigerian Artists.  In his remark at its inception in 1959, Uche Okeke, the secretary of the society, declares that; ‘we must have our own school of art independent of European and Oriental schools, but drawing as much as possible from the cream of these influences [author’s emphasis] and wedding them to our native art culture’.  In order to focus their thought, ‘the Zaria art society advanced their theory of natural synthesis which, essentially, called for the merging of the best of the indigenous art traditions, form and ideas with the western ones’ (Chika Okeke 1995).}

_{[6] There have been debates about who the artists that represents Africa in global exhibitions are.  In the case of Nigeria where the likes of Joseph Ofili and Yinka Shonibare are projected as Nigerian artists whereas they were trained in the west and were even born there, the only connection they have with Nigeria will be some few visits and the fact that their parents were from Nigeria}.