Curatorial Rationale
As I continued to develop my skills in art, I noticed that African art is hardly ever appreciated in the Art world especially in school curriculums. I decided I would create art that would represent the aesthetics of African art and culture. Going into this I realized that my knowledge of the concept of African art was limited so I began to do my research on prominent African artists and their techniques. The most important part of developing my art pieces was choosing the colors that would be most suitable to the piece and portray the beauty of African art. Inspirations for my art have come from several popular African artists. The likes of Zina Saro-Wiwa and Laolu Sebanjo. The first piece I created was a mask made out of paper mache. I called it ‘The dancer’s mask’ as it resembled the type of mask African dancers would wear to perform at ceremonies in parts of Africa, most especially the Yoruba Tribe. I think this piece is a good ambassador for my theme. My most memorable piece is a collage I made. I call it ‘beauty queen’ as it represents the beauty of African women and their mode of dressing. Knowing I had no practice on how to mix acrylic colors to give out a black skin tone, I decided to portray it as a silhouette. Out of all of my artworks, I had a lot of fun making this piece even though it took a lengthy amount of time to make. My most valued artwork was inspired by a Nigerian-American artist, Laolu Sebanjo. By imprinting African patterns in the shape of a hand, I was able to create an art piece very similar in style to those of the artist. Having to precisely paint those patterns using acrylic paint while also maintaining the shape of the hand made this piece very difficult to create. All my artworks being a representation of how appealing African art is makes it very unique to its audience. |
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EXHIBITION TEXT 1
TITLE - THE DANCER'S MASK MEDIUM - PAPER MACHE AND ACRYLIC PAINT SIZE - 55 x 35 cm INTENTION: This is a sculpture of an African dancer's mask. The purpose of this art is to enlighten its audience on the importance of masks in African cultures. Masks are often worn for several reasons in diverse african cultures. Masks can be worn for ceremonies, rituals and even war. The mask I made references the type of masks Yoruba dancers would wear while dancing at ceremonies to entertain their audience. EXHIBITION TEXT 2
TITLE - Beauty Queen MEDIUM - Collage on paint SIZE - 29.5 x 41 cm INTENTION: This artwork reveals the beauty of African women and their elegant way of dressing. A reflection on how African women are able to retain their beauty even in the most unfavourable conditions led me to create this piece of art. I specifically used the colors green and white for the collage because it represents my country of origin, Nigeria. EXHIBITION TEXT 3
TITLE - Woman At Point Zero MEDIUM - Drawing Paper and color pencil SIZE - 36.5 x 29 cm INTENTION: This art was inspired by a book I once read titled Woman At Point Zero, in which a woman who resided in Egypt explained the tribulations she faced growing up in a patriarchal society three days before she was to be executed. My artwork expresses the emotional endurance of Firdaus through her eyes. EXHIBITION TEXT 4
TITLE - Sunset Sensation MEDIUM - Acrylic Paint on Canvas SIZE - 25 x 20 cm INTENTION: I made this artwork as a representation of how amazing and atheistically pleasing sunset is in several regions of Africa. The art shows a the silhouette of a young boy sitting under a tree enjoying the beautiful view. This artwork creates an atmosphere that makes its audience forget about their worries at that point in time and only relish on the beauty of nature EXHIBITION TEXT 5
TITLE - Bonded MEDIUM - Acrylic Paint on Cardboard SIZE - 26 x 35.5 cm INTENTION: This is my first attempt at creating abstract African Art. Hidden under the simplicity of the artwork is a deeper understanding of the bond and love shared by people in Africa irrespective of race, skin color, size, religion or ethnicity. The painting resembles a silhouette of two individuals bonded together with a around them representing love. The silhouette creates a sense of anonymity proclaiming egalitarianism. EXHIBITION TEXT 6
TITLE - Reaching Out MEDIUM - Acrylic Paint on Cardboard SIZE - 34 x 37.5 cm INTENTION: I created the art based on the study of a Nigerian bred performance and visual artist, Laolu Sebanjo. His style of art, Afromysterics (Mystery of the African thought pattern), inspired me to create my artwork based on this concept. Often, Laolu would create his artworks on the body of individuals referring to the skin of the model as his canvas. In connection to this idea, my artworks portrays a hand reaching out to something with African patterns imprinted on its surface. |
“If we are to preserve culture we must continue to create it” by Johan Huizinga.