By Tajudeen Sowole
Whoever choses Museum of
Contemporary Art (MOCA) in North Miami, U.S., as a resource spot in
appreciation or documentation of African art would not likely miss one of its
newest collections; a fabric sculpture by George Edozie. Late last year, MOCA
showed the works of Edozie at the 2014 edition of Art Basel in Miami as Shifting the Paradigm. It was the artist's first major
solo exhibition in the U.S.
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| ‘Thoughts of Obiageli,’ an installation by Goerge Edozie |
Edozie,
whose career back home in Nigeria was largely in the painting genre until
recently, appears to have shot his sculptures into a faster lane compared to
whatever he has done on canvas in the past one and a half decades. In fact, his
works in sculpture had only been exhibited once or twice at a major outing in
Nigeria at a solo show at National Museum, Onikan, Lagos.
From Nigerian-born British artist, Yinka
Shonibare's works in satirical themes that employ Dutch wax textile (ankara in Nigerian local parlance), in
creating master pieces of great concept, to Peju Alatise's appropriation of
diverse social challenges, particularly of feminine themes as well as some
painters using fabrics to texturise their canvas, the creative application of
textile art space is getting broader. Irrespective of the energy in
contemporaneity, which fabric is widely enjoying among artists in the past one
or two decades, Edozie's sculptural work - as short in history as it is in the
public space - is already contributing to the vocabulary of art lexicon in that
context.
From the 14 works, including paintings, shown
at Shifting the Paradigm, MOCA, according to Edozie "has acquired ‘Okpulu’ (Grandma's Basket)," he stated
during a post-event chat in Lagos recently. "The curator of the
exhibition, Prof. Nkiru Nzegwu called me after I left the U.S. and disclosed
that MOCA has added ‘Okpulu’ to
its collection," Edozie clarified.
Apart from having his work in the collection
of MOCA, Miami, Shifting the Paradigm also made what could be termed
tremendous impact at Art Basel. "Prof Nkiru also said my show was listed
among the best four at Art Basel, 2014."
A non-figural piece, ‘Okpulu’ is rendered in woven-like moulding,
done with pieces of shred clothes, perhaps wrapped over some metal skeletal
frame that hold the fabric. Beyond the supposed aesthetics of the works shown,
the cultural contents, Edozie said, were as important. For example, the artist
stated that ‘Okpulu’ was
inspired by his grandmother's basket. What's special about a woman's basket?
The basket, he explained, is not the same as the regular one for daily domestic
chores or farm. "Mostly found with elderly woman in the past, the basket
is used for keeping cloth" as a sort of wardrobe, Edozie who spent his
formative years in Eastern Nigeria recalled.
Just like ‘Okpulu,’ most other works at
the exhibition depict quite a number of native contents of Igbo origin. Some of
the works include ‘Thoughts on
Obiageli,’ ‘Oniarozor's Dream,’
‘Ogilo and Emegini,’ ‘Obinka’ and ‘Aso Mma.’
While showcasing
native contents of African value was not exactly the core of the exhibition, it
was an opportunity for Edozie to present his work, as a window into African art
within the context of the global market.
He boasted, "We wanted to shift the
paradigm from Europe and the U.S. to Africa." But it didn't appear as if
his audience or visitors to the show were as liberal as he thought.
"Surprisingly, there are still people in the U.S. who thought that nothing
good could come out of Africa".
However,
Edozie's Shifting the Paradigm was
well prepared for the task of promoting African creativity to an unwilling
audience: it wasn't just an art exhibition as part of a huge Art Basel. The show also featured
conference, which had a prominent traditional ruler, the Obi of Onitsha, His Majesy, Nnemeka Achebe, as "father of the
day and special guest of honour."
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