By Tajudeen Sowole
Between hypes and reality of
a world being compressed by technology-aided means of communication, Krydz
Ekwuemesi's recent body of work The
Village Square showing at International Centre
for Creative Development, Abuja, offers a depth of perspective that
challenges common noms.
The Seer Saw (acrylic on canvas, 2015, 101.5cm X 122) by Krydz Ikwuemesi.
The
works of the artist, which represent his thoughts, explain how he draws analogy
from the context of African village, particularly, the importance of the
people's assembly point- the 'village square.' Ikwuemesi notes that in Igbo
society, for example, "the square captures not only the soul and the face
of a village," it opens what he describes as "a window to its layers
of members, norms and worldviews."
In contrast, bringing this sociological
viewpoint to the global scale, he argues that despite the much-celebrated role
of technology, the world is not exactly advancing in real values. "In
spite of its expansiveness, the world seems so small." Yes, doesn’t that
justify another phrase ‘it’s a small world’, which underscores the dynamics of
interconnectivity? No, the artist disagrees. "There is so much motion, yet
little movement; globalisation takes its toll."
Works
such as a vertical shape painting I Am
Here, Strong and Firm, Like A
Monkey's Tail, My Grandmother's Wall,
Ode To Uli-I, Through the Crumbling Wall,
Thoughts And Apparitions, Ije Uwa II, Before the Wall Crumble and Under
the Moonlight are some of the pieces laced with incendiary warnings. More
importantly, the flood of uli in the
works adds to the expressive metaphor of the central theme or focus of the
exhibition. For example, a triptych-like painting My Grandmother's Wall (acrylic on board, 2009) appears to represent
the virtues of the native era of which the much-hyped modern or contemporary advocacy
of global family trails.
Indeed, the strength of the body of work lies
in the argument that the world has always recycled civilization. Also, the
place of nativity cannot be brushed aside, no matter the state of
contemporaneity. Ikwuemesi, in recent
times, has been using his themes of local contents to either draw attention or
make comparative analysis to other cultures outside Africa. Last year, he
shared his research on Ainu culture of Japan. The forum was the Omooba Yemisi
Adedoyin Shyllon Art Foundation (OYASAF) Lecture Series V, themed Art and
Culture Among the Igbo of Nigeria and the Ainu of Japan in the Postcolonial
Period: a Critical Survey, held at
the Maryland, Lagos office of the art foundation.
For The
Village Square exhibition - with an element of Japanese themes in the works
- it is a visual narrative about advancement being a mere perception, in reality,
the world, Ekwuemesi insists, has not exactly moved from the point where
civilisation took off. "The world changes. But we have not changed
much" he stresses. "We are meaning-seeking animals trapped in a world
where meaning has remained meaningless and ever elusive."
Between
the inventions of the wheel (3,500 BC) and 20th century's magic means of
communication, The Internet, it is hard to claim that the world has not
expanded in the real sense. Quite a lot has happened between the wheel and
internet age so fast that, it could be argued that the achievements of the rest
of the centuries look too ordinary. Perhaps, the gains achieved, particularly
in the last few centuries, have not really imparted on the world, to truly make
it a village. "The world, the expansive but small village square we now
all share, continues to challenge us; we are ever surrounded by the same
worries and forces that shaped the consciousness of those who went before
us." It's still the world left behind being recycled in different
forms. "The new world is a village,
after all; it is the old village re-varnished. We have been here before and
will ever be. We go forward, no doubt. But we will return, now and again, like
Sankofa, to seek new crumbs along
foot-beaten, old tracks; to seek new meanings in old visions.”
Ikwuemesi
is a painter, art critic, ethno-aesthetician and cultural entrepreneur, has a
BA (First Class Honours) in Fine and Applied Arts, an MFA in Painting and a PhD
in Art History from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He is the founder of the
Pan-African Circle of Artists (PACA) and Emeritus President of The Art Republic
(also known as Centre for Arts and Cultural Democracy), Enugu. He has
participated in workshops and creative residencies and has directed Afrika Heritage
(the PACA Biennale), Overcoming Maps (PACA Study Tour of Africa), and the
Mmanwu Theatre in Enugu. Ikwuemesi has researched and published on aspects of
Igbo arts; his doctoral thesis embodied a comparative study of Igbo and Ainu
arts and cultures. In 2009 he researched Ainu arts and aesthetics as a Japan
Foundation Fellow in Hokkaido. He is the editor of two major journals: The Art
Republic and Letter from Afrika. He is Associate Professor in the Department of
Fine and Applied Arts, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and was recently a
Visiting Professor at the National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka, Japan.
He is a Fellow of the American Council of
Learned Societies African Humanities Program and a Senior Fellow of the IFRA
(French Institute for Research in Africa). He was recently Coordinator of the
Humanities Unit in the School of General Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka
and is currently the coordinator of the Death Studies Association of Nigeria. A
polyvalent artist of superlative merit, Ikwuemesi has held several solo and
group exhibitions and published many articles on art in professional journals.
Ikwuemesi was International Secretary of the
Pan-African Circle of Artists (PACA) and convened/organised the Pan African
Conference on the Status and Work Condition of the Artist in Africa. There was
participation from different parts of the world; received a grant from Prince
Claus Fund for Culture and Development, The Netherlands, as support for the
project.
As Secretary of PACA, he also organised/directed
the 3rd Overcoming Maps of the Pan African Circle of Artists, leading over
fifty African artists through six West African countries (Nigeria, Benin, Togo,
Burkina Faso, Mali, and Ghana ) by road for 21 days; received a generous grant
from the Prince Claus Fund for Culture and Development, the Netherlands in
support of the project.
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