In Enugu, Ogakwu’s 'Illimite-II' unchains creativity from time, space

'Family Picture', (mixed media (30x38in, 2019), by Chinedu Ogakwu.

Against the tide of norms and traditions, Chinedu Ogakwu appears to have strengthened its visual vocabulary, as the artist broadens his technique launched four years ago. In 2015, Ogakwu showed a technique tagged Illimite in Lagos, marking the artist’s first solo exhibition in the city.

After pushing the technique into the consciousness of art aficionados, over the last four years, Ogakwu returns to the exhibition circuit, showing Ilimite-II from December 6-13, 2019 at National Gallery of Art, Temple Avenue, Enugu. A borrowed French word, ‘Illimite’ means unlimited, but adapted by Ogakwu to enhance his mixed media works on canvas.

As the new exhibition is set to highlight Ogakwu’s dexterity in mixed media, the artist explained that it’s a concept is “unhindered by space or time.” With cracked canvas that is also textured in aging technique, Ogakwu brings themes across contemporary cultural genres to spice his works.

On roughened canvas of partly reflecting textures, the artist, for example, in a group of figurative titled Matters of the Moment coalesces pseudo-silhouette style with cracking technique. For some parts of the cracks, the artist creates spots in painting, perhaps to decode dialogue among the converged figures.

Quite a number of the works heading for the exhibition highlight fashion trends alongside socio-cultural statements. Such pieces include ‘Conviviality’, ‘My Lady’, ‘Family Picture,’ ‘Headgear’, ‘Owambe’ and ‘Status Symbol’.    

  

Chinedu Ogakwu

Softening textures from the cracked and aged canvas techniques is ‘Status Symbol’, a mixed-media painting that derives its aesthetics from the cubism style implored by the artist. From the figure’s haircut to the two-piece suit, a grand fashion statement is radiated as the background enhances the texture of the composite. As an art piece, the painting speaks volume across contemporary cultures. In corporate and hip-hop taste, ‘Status Symbol’ represents a blurring line being generated by the digital age, so suggests the cubism technique that also radiates semblance of reproduced robotic imagery. 

With the intimidating and rising profile of other visual genres such as installations and others loaded in the avant-garde forms, some painters, most often are now compelled to be louder in contemporaneity. And the refuge for such expression is usually the application of loud materials. For Ogakwu’s Illimite technique, which obviously derives its strength from the artist’s lavish application of materials, there is more statement to his themes beyond the heavy layers of mixed media. He noted how “intense passion and immense love of nature” has been the pedestal on which his art is mounted.  The strength of the materials applied is generated from what he listed as wood bark, ropes, ‘camouflage canvas, nets, wallpapers, jute fabric, among others. “These materials compel me to combine diverse sources; inspirations from my background, culture and life experiences to create feelings that scratch the walls of my being in an attempt to escape into the natural world.“                                                

  

From his thoughts on values comes ‘Family Picture’ series, in which the artist stylises figures to depict three persons that represent father mother and a young adult. Ogakwu’s style and technique in the texture of the paintings adds strong value to the bond that exists in an ideal family. Again, there is something about every theme of Ogakwu that carries fashion statement along, so explain the ‘Family Picture’ series, among others.

 Also, in ‘Conviviality’, the artist brings similar style and technique to continue his celebration of people in bonding, Ogakwu further brings his thought on fashion trends onto canvas in quite a number of pieces. Among such is ‘Head Gear’, in which a lady’s moulded head wear, her sunglasses and blouse combine to make urban pop culture of contemporary Nigerian outfit. The mixed media piece indeed celebrates the importance of ‘gele’ (head wear) to most Nigerian women as regards modern and contemporary fashion.

  

When pronounced application of materials becomes an artist’s passion, there comes other value beyond aesthetics. “By this transformation, natural materials and sometimes wastes, are given new relevance,” Ogakwu explained in his artist’s statement for Illimite-II. “One can discover endless little details, and to me every new piece is a challenge.”

  

‘Status Symbol’ mixed media (50x50inch, 2019), by Chinedu Ogakwu.

He argued that using objects on most of his wall pieces goes beyond creating a “3D structural quality to the compositions, but also questions what time really means when one is lost in it.”

  Ogakwu had traced the trajectory of his cracked and aging canvas techniques to a project themed ‘As Old As Man’. The concept, he recalled, set him out in experimenting with naivety of how ancient artists generated their forms and proceeded to appropriate such into contemporary space.

  

The experiment in ‘old’ forms would later create what he termed as the timelessness of his focus, interpreting of a subject matter to transform “into rich, vibrant, radiant, bold and uplifting colour that timelessly awaken the soul of the viewer.”

  Every artist has either a commercial or critical emotive attachment to a particular piece of art. Sometimes, the emotion attached is hard to let go. For Ogakwu, its about “elation, contentment and ultimate satisfaction of the feelings I experience on completion of each work, which further fuels my drive and zeal to begin yet another one.” 

  

Still on his art ideology or philosophy, as regards Illimite, Ogakwu said: "I believe that comfort zone kills, opportunity dances with those on the dance floor, the worst of you is today and your best is tomorrow, and your limit in life is within mind.”

  Ogakwu set out as an artist from the self-taught wing of art education. He recalled that his self-taught background prepared him ahead of formal art education at Higher National Diploma in Painting at Institute of Management Technology (IMT), Enugu.

  

Currently a full time studio artist, based in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Ogakwu’s Artist statement

Says: “His works often engages impulsive combination of forms, color, scale and perspective, calling into question how the viewer processes visual information. He uses visual metaphors as platform from which he not only investigates daily life and challenges of man, but employs colours in a native aged style to express his idea. This gave room to one of his successful project titled ‘Stone Age’ (As Old As Man.)” 

-Tajudeen Sowole.