BRIGHT UGOCHUKWU EKE

Between Earth and Clouds, November 2011. DON'T/PANIC, COP17. Durban Art gallery, South Africa

2012-01-03T17:17:00.000-08:00

HEAVY CLOUDS; WATER & WASTE: ARS II, ÅLANDS KONSTMUSEUM

2011-05-13T12:54:00.000-07:00

Ripples and Storm i, 2011; Environment and Objects: Recent African Art. Tang Museum, Skidmore College, New York

2011-02-12T23:36:00.000-08:00

Ripples and Storm ii, 2011; Environment and Objects: Recent African Art. Tang Museum, Skidmore College, New York

2011-02-12T23:27:00.000-08:00

Engaging Ripples ii; Global Africa Project-2010. Museum of Art and Design, New York

2011-02-12T23:12:00.000-08:00

Engaging Ripples (i) was one of the works I produced for my MFA projects in 2006 under the theme- WATER: medium, idea, and concept for sculpture. In some places in Africa and other parts of the world, it is common to see the rivers and other bodies of water being regarded as political boundaries. Ironically, all parties around it converge on the same spot-water for all that could be benefitted...be it for fishing, recreation, traveling...and so on.

Stemming from one of the strongest properties of water, being its universality and a dominant portion of existence/life, I begin to think of ‘what is in a boundary’. In this case, is it a demarcation or a meeting point? Metaphorically, the water ripples and the interlocking movements and effects try to deconstruct any virtual wall, and references the interconnectedness of all units of nature-people, cultures and places.

Between 2006 when I created 'Engaging Ripple (i) and 2010, there’s been also more damage done to water due to industrialization. There is pollution on water with oil in many countries of the world. There have been continuation of communal and pirate wars. This water is distressed but it remains the point of contact and support of all life. This begot the idea of the project: Engaging Ripples (ii) for the exhibition-Global Africa Project at MAD, New York.

In the former, I explored the simple silt from the river bed while the more troubles are reflected in my use of carbon, as a result of combustion, in the later piece.

Wall Series ii, 2010. 'JAMM' London, 2010

2011-02-12T23:07:00.000-08:00

This is the wall I see around me. I think I’ve been misled. Now, how am I related to you when I can no longer feel the cord? Individual. Personal. You. Me. This wall is the line.

The line is the demarcation. It used to be for contact.

Now, where is my mind...? The body is mine, but the thought is theirs. They make all my decisions. I can only respond to the command of these arrows, because I have become a droid.

...And now, now, I just exist, not sure of who I am; not sure of where I am, not even what I do, and walking on the rubble of History.

NIGERIAN ARTIST BRINGS ACID RAIN TO INTERNATIONAL ART & CLIMATE SUMMIT

2010-11-06T17:09:00.000-07:00

PRESS RELEASE, OCTOBER 2009
www.rethinkclimate.org/sfs.php?fid=cwt
www.rethinkclimate.org

Nigerian artist Bright Ugochukwu Eke brings his artwork “Acid Rain” to an

international platform during the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. His

work is presented on 31 October – the opening date of the international art exhibition

“RETHINK – Contemporary Art & Climate Change” in Copenhagen...

ACID RAIN: RETHINK- Contemporary Art And Climate Change, Copenhagen

2009-12-16T18:47:00.001-08:00

WATER

2009-11-14T02:45:00.000-08:00

WALLS, 2009. AMSTERDAM

2009-11-11T15:09:00.000-08:00

Ugochukwu Bright Eke – Commonwealth Foundation’s Artist in Residence

2009-10-31T16:03:00.000-07:00

Bright/Alice Yard

In hosting Nigerian artist, Ugochukwu Bright Eke, one of the recipients of the Commonwealth Foundation’s, Commonwealth Arts and Crafts Award, Alice Yard in Trinidad and Tobago, was presented with the wonderful opportunity to expand its exploration as a free fluid environment for creative activities, in a range of disciplines.

Through different events such as formal conversation, art installations and gradual accretions to its spatial composition, Alice Yard seeks to play with the creative process, its product and its presentation.

It was created in 2006, as an ongoing project, exploiting the cultural and historical nuances of “The Yard”, in the archetypal urban Caribbean sense. Alice Yard is just that – a typical back yard in the city of Port-of Spain, and so Bright’s presence brought to it the sensibility of a foreign mind, the activity of a foreign creative presence and envisioning from a foreign perspective.

As Alice Yard’s first formal and foreign artist-in-residence, Bright Eke became both collaborator and challenge, in the shaping and testing of the infrastructural and operational accommodations of Alice Yard.

At present, it is a complex of small spaces (band room, courtyard, exhibition/show space, multi-purpose annex and roof terrace), which have provided the setting for intriguing displays in art, design, performance and debate. In its evolution, emerging bands have been showcased, young designers have appropriated the entire complex for their public debut installations and choreographers have countered the clean lines of the glass fronted showing space (Alice Yard Space), with the expressiveness of the human body.

The commentary in Bright’s work also seemed congruent with the physical transformations of Alice Yard, in its utilization of found and discarded materials from its site and elsewhere. This mutation of waste to resource, seemed to parallel Bright’s focus on the environment and the impact of the detritus of mass manufacturing on its condition, with specific reference to water.

In and around Alice Yard, Bright found himself surrounded by collections of recyclable material and objects, of which the plastic water bottle became the material and object of his final show in Trinidad, which he titled “Water and Me”.

Bright/ Alice Yard/ Port-of Spain

It’s 1:00 am and we arrive from the airport, at what will be Bright’s apartment, which is 10 minutes away from Alice yard. As he mounts the pavement carrying his travel bags he turns to me in the darkness of the morning and asks, “Sean, why is it so quiet?” .

I was suddenly confronted then by the quaintness of my island’s city relative to the unimaginable buzz of urban environments which Bright would be used to in Nigeria. Being an architect, I suppose I also understood then, that negotiating this sense of more space in less space was going to underpin how Bright functioned and faltered in his assimilation of Port-of-Spain, both actively and psychologically.

While my fascination with Lagos as an urban phenomenon heightened; stimulated by Bright’s stories of that city’s density of possibilities and difficulties, the reality of Port-of-Spain’s pace/space dynamic challenged Bright’s Nigerian sense of urgency and endeavour; a situation which resulted in his having to invest more of a hands-on involvement in the making of his works, than he either wanted or anticipated.

Additionally, the activity of the band room at Alice Yard at that time, meant that Bright’s introduction to art practice in Trinidad and Tobago was through his being in close midst of persons in music and the performing arts, and so interacting with musicians, singers, dancers and fashion designers was more frequent and likely than meeting fine artists.

These interactions lead more easily to the co-opting of Bright’s work in their productions and so collaborations existed more in the domain of presentation than process.

Bright’s series of painted and distressed umbrellas were used as props and accessories for a fashion show staged at Alice Yard and the presentation of his culminating show “Water and Me” incorporated choreographed dance sequences by the dance troupe ‘Metamorphosis’ under the direction of Sonja Dumas.

Bright/ Alice Yard/ Port-of-Spain/ Beyond

Creative responsiveness has always been invaluable and enjoyable in the staging of events at Alice Yard and so in the days leading up to the showing of “Water and Me” it became more evident that the scale of Bright’s work could not be contained in the Alice Yard.

We investigated in earnest, a site miraculously closer to water, and capitalising on my experience in Carnival, Bright keenly followed through on some of the suggestions for the engineering of his tall but light structure.

This structure, which was central to Bright’s installation “Water and Me”, was a twelve metre tall bottle constructed of hundreds of discarded plastic bottles fastened together. Its mounting was in fact a performance in itself, as lift by lift the looming structure celebrated its lightness and delicacy, rising precariously into the air with Bright eventually trapped within. The resulting towering form had an awesome presence, which was difficult to imagine prior to its mounting, and the slightly discernable silhouette of a human figure occasionally drew attention when it moved within the containment of the bottle’s sparkling envelope.

In its development, sheets of plastic bottles imposed a curvilinear landscape of bulbous plastic within the modest space of Alice Yard. In its final presentation these sheets transformed to a single grand statement in a vast open space off Port-of Spain’s waterfront.

This, Bright’s final statement was for me though unwittingly, encouragement for Alice Yard in spite of its discrete presence, to be instrumental in the shaping of large creative gestures; a conduit for conversations between yard space and world space.

Sean Leonard,

Architect,

Alice Yard,

80 Roberts Street

Port-of Spain,

Trinidad & Tobago

FLUID CONNECTIONS, BRIGHT UGOCHUKWU EKE: by Celeyce Matthews, delivered in a graduate seminar on modern African art at San Jose State University

2009-05-13T12:28:00.000-07:00

The widespread damage continually inflicted upon the environment and on human cultures in the name of modern progress is coming to a critical point. Accelerating along the trajectory set in place by the Enlightenment, the rise of Western modernism created alienation and the fragmentation of cultures which in turn caused dramatic rifts between people, and between people and nature. Nations, traditions, identities and relationships were shattered into disconnected splinters as a result of modernism’s ascendancy. However, this fragmentation and isolationism is now being countered by a global push towards interconnectivity; the shattered modern world is beginning to reassemble itself into a more complexly integrated and interconnected planet. Despite their many problematic aspects, globalization and communications technology are aiding this backlash against modern alienation. Additionally, social, scientific, spiritual, political, artistic and ecological movements are seeking to repair disconnection and establish constructive interrelationships between cultures, races and genders, and between people and nature. The term ‘interconnectivity’ has become a buzzword in these seemingly disparate subcultures (emphasizing the meaning of the word.)

Working toward interconnectivity with an eye to practical ethical and ecological issues, many contemporary artists are bypassing postmodern issues of the so-called deaths of history, of originality, etc. in order to redress modernism’s blunders. If we pollute our planet to the point of no return, do issues of authorship or pastiche really matter? Philosopher Richard Kearney calls for an ethical and poetic imagination to replace modernism’s exhausted fantasies of individualism and progress, and postmodernism’s empty reflections of cynical surface. Poetic approaches to ethical universal concerns release artists from the traps of modern alienation and postmodern apathy. By stressing the interconnectivity of human action and the environment, artists poetically enact a practical reappraisal of critically fragmented relationships.

Exemplifying this poetic approach to dire global dilemmas, contemporary Nigerian artist Bright Ugochukwu Eke creates installation sculpture from a desire to find commonalities and connections between people, and between people and nature. Eke was born in 1976 in Imo Nigeria and earned a BA and MFA in sculpture from the University of Nigeria in Nsukka. He studied with El Anatsui and gained confidence under his tutelage to experiment with non-traditional materials in his artwork. Eke’s first professional outing was in the 2006 Dakar Biennale of Contemporary African Art in Senegal and subsequently he has been in several international exhibitions and won many awards and residencies around the world. Currently living in Los Angeles, Eke is typical of a new generation of artist who embodies a transnational identity and is concerned with issues that move beyond locality into a global arena of concerns. Eke uses a poetic approach to the critical ethical problems of environmental destruction and the disconnection between humans and nature that allow for ecological devastation.

With a strong sense of an underlying interconnectedness linking all life forms, Eke calls attention to the harmful man-made boundaries that cause disconnection and destruction. Eke proclaims, “Having perceived this interconnectedness and interdependence of humans and nature, and having felt the damage, the separateness, and barriers we have created selfishly and egoistically, I thought it pertinent to find ways through which we could ameliorate or proffer some solutions to some of these… I thought of a common language in nature. That brought me to the language of WATER!” Eke uses water as both a material and a metaphor to speak eloquently about universal human and environmental problems. Eke explains, “Water is a universal medium. It’s common to everybody, no matter who or where you are. Whatever I do with water is what every other person does with it in every part of the world. The most interesting part is that we are bound or connected by [water.]” This connection has been ignored and abused, and as a result, water has become critically damaged by the industrial processes of modernism. Eke’s work foregrounds this issue of alienation between humans and nature.

Created for the 2006 Dakar Biennale of Contemporary African Art in Senegal, Eke’s installation Acid Rain comes from his direct contact with toxic rainfall. While working in Nigeria’s gravely polluted Port Harcourt, Eke developed a skin irritation due to acid rain from local industrial pollution. This incident inspired enquiry into the causes of acid rain and his resulting artwork illuminates this problem. Eke’s piece is an assemblage of small plastic bags containing water fouled with battery acid that are bound and hung from string at different lengths. A 2008 rendition of this work, Water Drop, is also a cluster of polluted water packets, each resembling (acid)raindrops, forming a larger shape of a water droplet, emulating water’s ability to be multiple units yet part of a unified body. In this allusion to the concept of interconnectivity, the fluid multiplicity of water serves as a metaphor for individual humans making a cohesive, although perhaps dysfunctional, society. Similarly, the individual affects the whole - individual consumption of the products of industry, namely oil and consumer goods, drives the toxic processes that create wide-scale environmental damage. The connection and interdependence between human action and the environment is frequently ignored and disrespected; by suggesting the fluid nature of the dichotomy of the individual and the whole, Acid Rain and Water Drop call attention to a global problem we all participate in and are effected by, consciously or not.

Water Drop 2008, Bright Ugochukwu Eke

In Eke’s installations, we are initially drawn in by the visual beauty and meticulous process of construction; thus engaged, we become aware of the serious content embedded in the work. Eke explores the theme of (dis)connection further in his spectacular large-scale installations Natural Connection, created for the 2008 International Festival for the Arts in the Netherlands, and Confluence, made for the 2008 international exhibition CodeShare in Lithuania. In both of these works, hundreds of clear plastic water bottles were painstakingly connected into dazzling, sinuous mazes that viewers can interact with and walk through. These installations are “an attempt to create a common ground for interactions between people” Eke states, as they struggle to move through the narrow ‘waterways.’ Although officially part of international art events, these pieces were exhibited in everyday environments like a shopping mall and a local neighborhood street, not just in the privileged spaces of gallery and museum. In these unconventional spaces, the artwork is available to everybody, connecting the work and its meanings to everyday life. Additionally, the water bottles used in these pieces were culled from the surrounding areas of the installation sites; this attention to connection with the artworks’ environments is very much a part of Eke’s message. Eke explains, “My medium/work is from the environment, about the environment; from the public, about the public and everyday life - from the society/culture and about the society/culture.” Regrettably, plastic water bottles have become an everyday aspect of our daily life and environment.

The ubiquitous plastic water bottle is a contemporary symbol of the increasing problems of acquiring drinkable water and is arguably the quintessential icon for the disconnection between people and nature. In many parts of the world the water supply is dwindling and much of it is contaminated by industrial waste or by lack of appropriate sanitation, forcing many people to resort to importing water in plastic bottles. Whether merely trendy items of convenience or tools temporarily fulfilling a genuine need, plastic water bottles are not a sustainable solution for portable water; rather, plastic water bottles create further environmental problems. Made from petrochemicals in toxic processes, plastic water bottles contribute to pollution in their production and international transport, and add to the political shenanigans surrounding oil. Furthermore, plastic is not biodegradable and water bottles are rapidly littering our environment, harming wildlife, releasing toxic fumes in their incineration and filling our garbage dumps. There is also concern about the safety of drinking water bottled in plastic due to chemical leaching. Eke’s choice of plastic water bottles as a medium to signify the drastic disconnection between humans and nature is an eloquent and effective one.

Natural Connection 2008, Bright Ugochukwu Eke

Besides the water bottles being potent indicators of the disconnection between humans and the environment, the meandering walls of Natural Connection and Confluence are also symbolic of the ideological walls people erect to separate each other from diverse cultures, races and genders, as well as from the natural world. Assigning Otherness to an individual, a group, or to nature, sets up an alienating opposition; Eke’s work highlights and attempts to dissolve the barriers separating people and cultivates awareness of the interconnectivity of life. Eke chooses to collaborate on the construction of his works with people from the local installation area and considers this cooperation a vital aspect of his work. Joining forces with a variety of people emphasizes the content of Eke’s work; Eke states, “Working with people has always been something I like to do because of the nature of my work… I also like to feel the connection with other people in my work. My idea is about the connection with people, the societies/cultures, and the environment. How one affects the other. So I will not feel fulfilled even when I can do the work all alone.” Eke’s art-making process works toward building connections with diverse communities which facilitates breaking down the barriers between people and dissolves the alienating classification of Otherness.

Natural Connection 2008, Bright Ugochukwu Eke

Pushing beyond the assigned identity of the Other, many third generation post-colonial African artists, like Eke, are less concerned with constructing and projecting a specific and recognizable African identity than African artists in the first decades of independence. Negritude and Pan-Africanism expressed the backlash against colonial imperialism and embodied the search for a new cohesive African identity. Artists of this dynamic era played a major role in constructing this new identity, often under strong social and political coercion. New hybrid identities acknowledging and embodying multiple cultural influences became the new social paradigm in Africa, and around the world. As professor, writer and critic Okwui Enwezor points out, the identities of Africa are a construction of the “collision of Africa and Europe” which have created the heterogeneous positions in African contemporary identity. Enwezor confirms “all forms of culture and identity are constructed, shaped and reshaped by varying forms of historical conjunctions, appropriations, contestations and refusals.” Cultures have always borrowed from each other, now more than ever in this age of globalization and interconnectivity. The current generation of African artists is expressing a transnational or global identity that is moving beyond locality and hybridity, and emphasizes the interconnectedness of cultures. Eke is one of these transnational artists explaining, “I am an artist from Africa but in a global society.”

Confluence, 2008 Bright Ugochukwu Eke

Although Africa is now technically post-colonial and participating in a global world from a freer political stance, many Western writers, anthropologists, scholars, art historians and art collectors continue to contrive to assert their imperialist notions in regards to African art. The voyeuristic pleasure of creating an African Other isolated in a ‘primitive’ and exotic past has compelled some Westerners to continue to select, promote and support a narrow range of African art – art that professor and critic Nkiru Nzegwu claims “must be outside Africa’s own modernity [and] is...relocated outside of time and history.” A large part of the West’s need to dismiss and marginalize contemporary African artists is played out in a self-serving narrative constructed for the African Other by the West surrounding ideas of authenticity. The drive to label certain African artwork as ‘authentic’ is an extension of the attempt to contain and dominate African artists and maintain notions of Western superiority.

The West often chooses African aesthetic forms that satisfy a Western-constructed African identity that is assumed to be disconnected from Western influences; African art that can be linked to Western practice is often disqualified as ‘inauthentic’. If ‘inauthentic’ contemporary African art merely mimics Western art, that sets up the logic confirming that Western art is the superior origin; the West is confirmed as the source of originality and authentic genius and ostensibly only the West can assimilate other cultures’ aesthetics without losing its identity. This is an imperialist belief that allows the West to impertinently graze the world’s cultures for its own usage and to mask its own empty cultural concoction. Artist, professor and critic Olu Oguibe contends that the West needs to create the identity of the inauthentic, or the simply Other, African in order to “not reveal itself as mimic, as a culture of quotations, as a mediated translation of cultures and art traditions other than itself, as pastiche.”

These issues surrounding authenticity are also another means of isolating and separating people and cultures; the isolationist stance of the West denies the interconnectivity of culture. However, as the world moves inexorably beyond modernist notions of simplistic binaries and isolationism, and beyond postmodern ideas of hybridity and pastiche, the concept of authenticity versus inauthenticity collapses. The acceleration of interconnectivity and complex interchanges between cultures nullifies these outmoded methods of alienating classification. Eke does not play into the Western demand for African exoticism and ‘proof’ of authenticity; his artwork comes from his direct experience of the world around him: “My materials and the issues I try to address are found both in Africa and globally.” Eke’s work seeks to examine and repair the disconnection between cultures and move beyond the limitations of imposed Western narratives.
Bright Ugochukwu Eke’s installations illuminate the connections (and disconnections) between people and their environment, which mirrors the (dis)connections between people and cultures. Through evoking issues surrounding water, Eke uses a poetic approach to the critical ethical problems of environmental destruction caused by the disconnection between people and nature. Eke sums up his artistic intention declaring, “I am interested in exploring water in ways that can examine global human and environmental issues.” Seeking commonalities and stressing the interconnectivity between people, Eke is part of a new generation of transnational artist concerned with global dilemmas that transcend specific identity and locality. The fluid multiplicity of meanings in Eke’s work is artfully expressed in his chosen medium: the universal and unifying element of water.

PAGE \* MERGEFORMAT 5

Notes

Richard Kearney, HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Wake_of_Imagination&action=edit&redlink=1" \o "The Wake of Imagination (page does not exist)" The Wake of Imagination. (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1988), pp.s 361, 367.

Bright Ugochukwu Eke, Eco-Scope Blog. http://u-bright.blogspot.com/.

Bright Ugochukwu Eke, Written email interview by Celeyce Matthews. (California, April 25, 2009).

Ibid.

David Grossman,“Breaking the Bottled Water Habit.” USAToday.com. (September 22, 2009). http://www.usatoday.com/travel/columnist/grossman/2008-09-19-bottled-water_N.htm.

Deborah Kotz, “The Study of Chemical in Plastic Bottles Raises Alarm.” US News and World Report. (April 16, 2008). HYPERLINK "http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/living-well-" http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/living-well-usn/2008/04/16/study-of-chemical-in-plastic-bottles-raises-alarm.html.

Eke, interview by Celeyce Matthews.

Enwezor, Okwui. “HYPERLINK "http://vrc-collections.sjsu.edu/courses/275/Modern%20Africa/Tricking%20the%20Mind.pdf"Tricking the Mind. The Work of Yinka Shonibare.” Authentic/Ex- Centric: Conceptualism in Contemporary African Art. Ed.s Salah Hassan and Olu Oguibe.(Ithica, NY: Forum for African Arts, 2002), p. 217.

Ibid.

Eke, interview by Celeyce Matthews.

Nkiru Nzegwu, “Introduction – Contemporary African Art and Exclusionary Politics.” Issues Contemporary African Art. (Binghamton, NY: International Society for the Study ofAfrica ISSA at Binghamton University, 1998), p. 11.

Olu Oguibe, The Culture Game. (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2004), p 7.

Eke, interview by Celeyce Matthews.

CONFLUENCE, 2009. Vilnius-Lithuania

2009-01-23T14:39:00.001-08:00

Natural Connection, 2008. Arnhem-Netherlands

2008-12-08T08:43:00.000-08:00

Natural Connection was produced at the International Festival of the Arts in Arnhem-Netherlands under the theme: Art, Migration and Identity. It focuses on issue of the common ground for all cultures/races with reference to movement which is usually constrained among these. As i have always said, water unites every body even with the environment. It does not recognize any boundaries and moves freely. These are walls of water bottles; they remind me of the cultural, racial, and gender barriers, and differences we have created for ourselves. The plastic bottles are not environmentally friendly, and therefore reminds me of the barrier with the environment. It is made to be experienced hence, it is interactive. It was exhibited in alternative spaces(not in gallery or museum), like shopping mall and a space in a neighborhood of immigrants who are disconnected from the Dutch indigenous society of Arnhem.

DROWNING, 2008. Arnhem-Netherlands

2008-11-13T15:15:00.000-08:00

Artist's Statement 2

2008-10-29T16:57:00.000-07:00

In 2002, I created an installation piece (with mirrors), which I called ‘Heaven and Earth’. It was a piece that questions the place of humans and the essence of existence. It references the relationship between one and another. Using the idea and notion of reflection and sacredness of the invisible as a parameter, it references the depth and status of the visible-the humans and their environment. The ‘visible’ earth is a reflection of the ‘invisible’ and ‘sacred’ Heaven, with no life as a single isolated entity without some sort of attachment to another. If therefore life is that sacred and has thread of supports, why then should there be these differences/barriers among human- races, religion, gender and so on, and between the humans and their own environment. It becomes obvious here that there is something spiritual and sacred about humans and their environment.

Having realized this, I began to feel the solitude of my existence and I needed answers to such questions as:
- Who am i?
- Who is the ‘Other’?
- Where is the meeting point?
- Am I self-sustainable without the ‘Other’ and the meeting point?
Then, in the emptiness of my own world, I sort to find the ‘Other’ but to no avail.

I think it is more disturbing here especially when I see that I am not saying anything new! It is not new to say that we are one people irrespective of race, culture or gender. It is not new also to say that we are not separate from this great realm of nature, the Earth around us. The later reminds me of Ralph Metzner’s words in his essay- The Psychopathology of the Human-Nature Relationship, in Ecopsychology by Roszak, et al; 1995: “It is not that our knowledge and understanding of the Earth’s complex and delicate web of interdependence is vaguely and inchoately lodged in some forgotten basement of our psyche. We have the knowledge of our impact on the environment, we can perceive the pollution and degradation of the land, the waters, the air-but we do not attend to it, we do not connect that knowledge with other aspects of our total experience”.
“…And it is a distorted, counter-factual image: we human beings are not, in fact, separate from or superior to nature, nor do we have the right to dominate and exploit nature beyond what is necessary for our immediate needs. We are part of nature; we are in the Earth, not on it”.

Having perceived this interconnectedness and interdependence of humans and nature, and having felt the damage, the separateness, and barriers we have created selfishly and egoistically, I thought it pertinent to find ways through which we could ameliorate or proffer some solutions to some of these. But how do we start? How do we understand ourselves? I thought of a common language in nature. That brought me to the language of WATER! Water is a precious natural medium/resource with universal language. It occupies the largest part of the earth, but has been disrespected, polluted, and contaminated with the advent of industrialization. It has been forced to lose its spirituality and purity.

Firstly, where is the connection between humans and water? We are very much aware that the human body is 70 percent water. While as fetus in the womb, we started life being 99 percent water. In fact, it is true to say that we exist mostly as water throughout our lives. This applies to every human being-black or white, all over the world. We are also aware that for water to remain pure, it does not have to be stagnant. When water becomes trapped it loses its spirituality and dies. As Emoto puts it in The Hidden Messages in Water: “ …moving, changing, flowing, this is what life is all about”, “… If we consider that before we became human beings, we existed as water, we get closer to finding the answer to basic question of what a human being is. If we have a clear understanding of water, we will better understand the human body, and even unlock the mystery of why we were born and exist as we do” (Emoto:2001)

I have created some works in reflection of these, especially, the peices-CONFLUENCE and NATURAL CONNECTIONS.

Before now, a lot of materials, ideas/ concepts, and processes have been explored for artistic statements, yet I see a wide blank to be filled and that spurred my quest for new means of expression, and informs my current interest in exploring water.

Unlike other tangible media, water posses a universal challenge to its user in terms of processes of representing and conceptualizing its ideas and concepts.
I am interested in exploring water in ways that can examine global, human and environmental issues.
I already worked on what I call “Water as a medium, idea and process for my MFA studies. The more work I do with water, the more I discover new ideas and processes which can provide clues that would address critical human and environmental issues.
I am also confronted by problems posed by what water has done to/with man, and vise versa.
Considering the ideas, concepts and processes i explore in my work, TRANSFORMATION plays a major role in the articulation of these. Wholesome, deterioration, life and death can not be over emphasized. Every day life is a process, and that informs my attitude to the handling of some of these ideas. The life itself is so dynamic and that is not only
in our behaviors but also in our physical bodies which include our
surroundings. In these sense, my idea can metamorphose and continue with
it's other side of existence as it is affected by or affects our attitudes”.

Heart of Darkness, 2008. Trinidad and Tobago

2008-09-29T09:47:00.000-07:00

Bottled life-Performance, 2008. Trinidad and Tobago

2008-09-29T09:08:00.000-07:00

'Bottled life' is a reaction to the strong barrier that exists between humans and nature. It tends to question the place of humans in his/her isolated existence as against the bond with the natural environment. We feel the need to always create security around ourselves as a result of our own recklessness. Bottled life is an attempt to reflect human claim of superiority and isolation from other forms of life. It also references the center or human state of mind as it is seduced and trapped in addiction to industrially packaged commodities.

Umbrellas-Collaborative performance with Sonja Dumas

2008-09-29T09:03:00.000-07:00

2008-09-29T08:59:00.000-07:00

2008-09-29T08:55:00.000-07:00

Bottled life, 2008. Trinidad and Tobago

2008-09-29T08:51:00.000-07:00

Water Drop, 2008. Paris

2008-05-24T06:54:00.000-07:00

2007-11-09T05:50:00.000-08:00

ARTIST'S STATEMENT

2007-11-02T18:04:00.001-07:00

I grew up in a society where the people care less about what happens to the environment. People tend to fend for themselves in isolation, without considering the environment as an integral part of their lives. In his book “Ecopsychology, Restoring the Earth, Healing the Mind”, Theodore Roszak quoted Freud: “Normally, there is nothing of which we are more certain than the feeling of ourselves, of our own ego. This ego appears as something else…” and he still holds that “this ego seems to maintain clear and sharp line of demarcation.” But I think this demarcation is so unfair in the sense that we are guilty of the cause of the environmental sickness.
We are only destroying a permanent feature and support of our existence to enjoy a temporary and artificial one. This is because we do not consider the answers to these questions posited by James Hillman’s article, A Psyche the size of the Earth, in Theodora Roszak’s Ecopsychology: “Where is the ‘me’? Where does the ‘me’ begin? Where does the ‘me’ stop? Where does the ‘other’ begin?”
We have continued to produce and consume a lot of toxic and dangerous chemicals that cause the deterioration of the Earth: water and air pollution, deforestation, acid rain, endangered species etc. simply because we do not care. I just wonder why it is in the nature of man to be ruthless, and I am afraid he does not seem to be scared of this impending ecologal crisis. The question is “who is the culprit?” Well, in trying to answer this question, all fingers point at Modernism. It is the Modernist view to see art as an arena in which to pursue individual freedom and expression, with more emphasis on aesthetics. This reminds me of a statement by Suzi Gablik in The Re-enchantment of Art: “…whereas the aesthetic perspective oriented us to the making of object, the ecological perspective connects art to its integrative role in the larger whole and the web of relationships in which art exists”. It becomes so interesting to hear that some other people are beginning to think about ‘The Re-enchantment of Art’, “...the emerging new paradigm reflects a will to participate socially: a central aspect of new paradigm thinking involves a significant shift from objects to relationships…there is a need for new forms emphasizing our essential interconnectedness rather than our separateness, forms evoking the feeling of belonging to a larger whole rather than emphasizing the isolated, alienated self.” (Gablik: 1991). It is high time we changed our notion of ‘Modernist individual freedom’, which only meant freedom from community, freedom from obligation to the world, and freedom from relatedness. To face a more resilient approach, according to Gablik, “a new emphasis falls on community and the environment rather than on individual achievement and accomplishment”. Will it not pay us to consider what Morris Berman in the Re-Enchantment of the World says: “…if there is any bond among the elements of this ‘counter culture’, it is the notion of recovery… of our bodies, our health, our sexuality, our natural environment, our archaic traditions, our unconscious mind, our rootedness in the land, our sense of community, and our connectedness to one another” (Gablik: 1991).
In another note, it is my strong conviction that every generation owes an obligation to history. The ancient civilization played their parts well by making and preserving their material histories. The gatherers, the cavemen and their art, the hunters, the blacksmiths, the farmers, enjoyed the natural world. But would the modernists’ history be that they destroyed the existing history with their hyper civilization? I believe this is what informed Suzi Gablik’s book ‘Modernism has failed’. Well, let us see what shall become of the history of postmodernism…
It is on this basis that I work on my ECO-SCOPE, a concept that informs my artistic expression.

MY RESUME

2007-11-02T18:04:00.000-07:00

Born 1976 Imo, Nigeria
MFA, University of Nigeria, Nsukka
BA, University of Nigeria, Nsukka

Solo Exhibition
2008 Water and Me; Bottled Life: Art in Unconventional Space; Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
2006 Environ-Scope: Goethe Institute, Lagos, Nigeria

Selected Group Exhibitions

2009

1st International Festival of Contemporary Art(FIAC of Algiers), National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Algiers.

RETHINK: THE IMPLICIT, Contemporary Art and Climate Change: Den Frie Center for Contemporary Art, Copenhagen, Denmark

All Barnsley Diversity Festival, South Yorkshire, UK
Stichting Art in Redlight, Amsterdam
TASTE 2009: Root Division, San Fransisco, USA
CODE SHARE, 10 Biennales, 20 Artists, 5 Continents, International Exhibition, Vilnius, Lithuania.

2008

Echo Wanted: Galerie Karsten Greve, Paris.
Experimental Frontiers: society through the eyes of South African and Nigerian artists; Cape Town, South Africa

WATER: Delight and Misery; Ifa Gallery, Stuttgart, Ifa Gallery Berlin.
Art, Migration, and Identity: International Exhibition for the International Festival of the Art in Arnhem - Netherlands.

2007

• Art, Ecology and the Politics of Change - Sharjah Biennial 8, United Arab Emirates.

• Trans-Cape Contemporary African Art Exhibition, Cape town, South Africa

• M.F.A, Final ( Studio and thesis) Exhibition, WATER: Medium, Process and Idea For Sculpture; Ana Gallery, University of Nigeria,Nsukka

2006

• ACP (African, Caribbean and Pacific) Festival, Santa Domingo, Antilles.

• DAK’ART, 7^th Biennial of Contemporary African Art, IFAN Musuem, Dakar, Senegal.

• M.F.A. (first) Exhibition, Ana Gallery, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

• 3^rd International Conference - Exhibition on Modern Art in Nigeria, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

2005

• 5^th Biennial Exhibition of Pan African Circle of Artists, National Museum, Enugu.

• 45^th Founders Day Anniversary Exhibition, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

2001

B.A. (studio and thesis) Exhibition; Children’s Play Architecture - Sandcastle

COMMISSION

2001

University of Nigeria, New Main Gate

AFFILIATION (S)

Member - College Arts Association, USA

ARTIST RESIDENCIES

2008

• International Festival of the Arts in Arnhem, Netherlands-Residency at Thamgidi Studios

• Commonwealth Arts and Craft Awards Residency, Trinidad and Tobago.

• Djerassi Artists Residency Program, California, USA.

• UNESCO Aschberg Bursaries for Artists’ Residency, Centro Colombo Americano, Colombia.

POSITION(S)

2009

Member of the Jury - Commonwealth Connections International Residency Awards, 2009

Awards / Residencies

. International Festival of the Arts in Arnhem-Netherlands
· Commonwealth Arts and Craft Awards, Residency, Trinidad and Tobago 2007 /2008
. The LEF Foundation, Lava Thomas and Peter Danzig Fellowship Award, Djerassy Residency Program, 2007
· Djerassi Artists Residency Program, California USA, Dakar Prize. 2007
· UNESCO Aschberg Bursaries for Artists, Residency ,Centro Colombo Americano, Colombia – 2007
· Best Graduating Student Prize, Dept. of Fine and Applied Arts, University of Nigeria, Nsukka-2001

CONFERENCES / LECTURES / WORKSHOPS

2010

Projected - Art and Environment; Skidmore College, New York
Projected - Nukae, The Art of El Anatsui; Neuberger Museum of Art, New York

2009

Ideas of Water: A workshop for RETHINK; Art and Climate Change, Copenhagen
Water is Power: African Art History; College Art Association, CAA Conference, Los Angeles,USA.

Burnett Child Development Center, San Fransisco Unified School District In Conjunction with ArtSeed, San Fransisco, USA

Sacred Heart High School, Palo Alto, USA

2008

• Slide talk, Alice Yard-Experimental Space, Trinidad and Tobago

2007

Slide talk, Palo Alto Art Center, California, USA.

Selected Bibliography· Sola, Balogun, “Ugochukwu Eke: Mirroring Society on Goethe Stage”, Daily Sun, (November 2006): 32
· Tajudeen, Sowole, “Eke’s Environ – Scope …., Beauties from the dumpsite”, The Guardian Life, (December 2006): Vol. 2, No. 11.
· Ozolua, Uhakheme, “Environ – Scope: Using Art to save Environment”, Daily Independent, (December 2006)
· Chuka, Nnabuife, “Environ – Scope … Bright Eke sets forth on Conceptual path”, The Guardian, (November 2006), 89.
· Ozioma, Onuzulike, “Presenting the ‘Unpresentable’: Bright Eke’s Installation Art” Catalogue, (November 2006)

Acid Rain

2007-11-02T15:59:00.000-07:00

Acid Rain references industrially polluted rain

Acid Rain

2007-11-02T15:56:00.000-07:00

Acid Rain

2007-11-02T15:53:00.000-07:00

Acid Rain

2007-11-02T15:47:00.000-07:00

Shields,

2007-11-02T15:43:00.000-07:00

Shields,

2007-11-02T15:37:00.000-07:00

2007-11-02T15:35:00.000-07:00

Dennis O'Leary!

The Djerassi Residency Program Director,quite a nice and jovial fellow.

2007-11-02T15:34:00.000-07:00

...and we had dinner together every evening

2007-11-02T14:18:00.000-07:00

The discussions were really educative!

My RESUME

2007-10-31T07:17:00.001-07:00

Born 1976 Imo, Nigeria
MFA, University of Nigeria, Nsukka
BA, University of Nigeria, Nsukka

Solo Exhibition
2008 Water and Me: Art in Unconventional Space; Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
2006 Environ-Scope: Goethe Institute, Lagos, Nigeria

Selected Group Exhibitions

2009 "RETHINK THE IMPLICIT" at Den Frie Centre of Contemporary Art in Copenhagen, Denmark

• All Barnsley Diversity Festival, South Yorks, UK

• Stichting Art in Redlight, Amsterdam

2009 2nd Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art, Greece

2009 TASTE 2009: Root Division, San Fransisco, USA

2009 CODE SHARE, 10 Biennales, 20 Artists, 5 Continents, Vilnius, Lithuania
2008 International Exhibition of the International Festival of the Arts in Arnhem- Netherlands.
2008 Experimental Frontiers and Local Rhetorics: Society through the eyes of South African and Nigerian Artists; South Africa.
2008 EChO Wanted: Galerie Karsten Greve, Paris.
.WATER: Misery and Delight ; Ifa-Gallery Stuttgart ; Ifa-Gallery Berlin, Germany.
2007 Sharjah Biannial 8,United Arab Emirates.
· Trans-Cape Contemporary African Art Exhibition, Cape Town, South African
2006 ACP (African, Caribbean and Pacific) Festival, Santa Domingo, Antilles
· DAK’ART, 7TH Biennial of Contemporary African Art, IFAN Museum, Dakar, Senegal
· MFA Exhibition, Ana Gallery, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
2005 Founders’ Day Anniversary Exhibition, Ana Gallery, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
· 5th Biennial Exhibition of the Pan African Circle of Artists, National Museum, Enugu
2002 Degree Exhibition, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

APPOINTMENT(S)
Member - 3 Member Regional Panel of Judges (Africa): Commonwealth Connections Residency, 2009

Awards / Residencies
. International Festival of the Arts in Arnhem-Netherlands
· Commonwealth Arts and Craft Awards, Residency, Trinidad and Tobago 2007 /2008
. The LEF Foundation, Lava Thomas and Peter Danzig Fellowship Award, Djerassy Residency Program, 2007
· Djerassi Artists Residency Program, California USA, Dakar Prize. 2007
· UNESCO Aschberg Bursaries for Artists, Residency ,Centro Colombo Americano, Colombia – 2007
· Best Graduating Student Prize, Dept. of Fine and Applied Arts, University of Nigeria, Nsukka-2001

Lectures

2009

Slide Talk, Water is Power: African Art History; College Arts Association (CAA) Conference, Los Angeles, USA
Burnett Child Development Center, San Fransisco Unified School District, in Conjunction with ArtSeed, San Fransisco, USA
Sacred Heart High School, Palo Alto, USA

2008

Slide Talk at Alice Yard(Experimental Space), Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago

2007

Slide Talk at Palo Alto Art Center, California, USA

Selected Bibliography
· Sola, Balogun, “Ugochukwu Eke: Mirroring Society on Goethe Stage”, Daily Sun, (November 2006): 32
· Tajudeen, Sowole, “Eke’s Environ – Scope …., Beauties from the dumpsite”, The Guardian Life, (December 2006): Vol. 2, No. 11.
· Ozolua, Uhakheme, “Environ – Scope: Using Art to save Environment”, Daily Independent, (December 2006)
· Chuka, Nnabuife, “Environ – Scope … Bright Eke sets forth on Conceptual path”, The Guardian, (November 2006), 89.
· Ozioma, Onuzulike, “Presenting the ‘Unpresentable’: Bright Eke’s Installation Art” Catalogue, (November 2006)

Exiled from River of Oil

2007-10-31T07:08:00.000-07:00

2007-10-30T09:55:00.000-07:00

Yeah...that is Brian Bevelanda, the composer on the foreground. We took some time to chill out by the sea side around the Golden Gate bridge in San Fransisco.

Exiled from River of Oil

2007-10-30T09:44:00.000-07:00

...References our endangered species as a result of oil spillage on water.

2007-10-30T09:36:00.000-07:00

Lauren DiCioccio of the the Djerassi Artist's Residency Program, and Bright

Slide talk

2007-10-30T09:08:00.000-07:00

A slide talk at Palo Alto Art center

Holes

2007-10-30T08:54:00.000-07:00

2007-10-30T08:40:00.000-07:00

2007-10-30T08:33:00.000-07:00

2007-10-30T08:26:00.000-07:00

2007-10-30T08:22:00.000-07:00

Holes

2007-10-30T08:09:00.000-07:00

Based on the ozon depletion and global warming phenomena

Holes

2007-10-29T21:23:00.000-07:00

2007-10-29T21:12:00.000-07:00

Nicholas was literally taking my mesurements for a 'casket' that was meant to be used in my performance, at the Sharjah Biennial 8, UAE

Making of the work "Holes"

2007-10-29T20:57:00.000-07:00

2007-10-29T20:45:00.000-07:00

Holes

2007-10-29T20:05:00.000-07:00

RESUME

2007-10-29T19:59:00.000-07:00

RESUME

BRIGHT UGOCHUKWU EKE

Born 1976 Imo, Nigeria

MFA, University of Nigeria, Nsukka

BA, University of Nigeria, Nsukka

Solo Exhibition

2008 Water and Me: Art in Unconventional Space- Trinidad and Tobago

2006 Environ-Scope: Goethe Institute, Lagos, Nigeria

Selected Group Exhibitions

2009

• RETHINK: THE IMPLICIT, Den Frie Center for Contemporary Art,

Copenhagen, Denmark

• All Barnsley Diversity Festival, South Yorks, UK

• Stichting Art in Redlight, Amsterdam

2009 2nd Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art, Greece

2009 TASTE 2009: Root Division, San Fransisco, USA

2009 CODE SHARE: 5 Continents, 10 biennales, 20 Artists. Vilnius,

Lithuania

2008 Art, Migration, and Identity: International Festival of the Arts in arnhem-

Netherlands

2008 Echo Wanted: Gallery Karsten Greve, Paris

2008 Experimental Frontiers: Society through the eyes of South African and

Nigerian artists, Cape Town, South africa

2008 WATER: Delight and Woe; Ifa-Gallery Stuttgart and Ifa-Gallery Berlin, Germany.

2007 Sharjah Biannial 8,United Arab Emirates.

Trans-Cape Contemporary African Art Exhibition, Cape Town, South African

2006 ACP (African, Caribbean and Pacific) Festival, Santa Domingo, Antilles

DAK’ART, 7^TH Biennial of Contemporary African Art, IFAN Museum, Dakar, Senegal

MFA Exhibition, Ana Gallery, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

2005 Founders’ Day Anniversary Exhibition, Ana Gallery, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

5^th Biennial Exhibition of the Pan African Circle of Artists, National Museum, Enugu

2002 Degree Exhibition, Ana Gallery, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

AFFILIATION (S)

• Member-College Arts Association, USA

• Member - Greepeace, USA

CONFERENCES/ LECTURES

2009

• Water is Power: African Art History. College Art Association

Conference, Los Angeles, Convention Center USA.

2008

• Slide talk, Alice Yard-Experimental Space, Trinidad and Tobago

2007

• Slide talk, Palo Alto Art Center, California, USA.

ARTIST RESIDENCES

2008

• International Festival of the Arts in Arnhem, Netherlands-Residency at Thamgidi Studios

• Commonwealth Arts and Craft Awards Residency, Trinidad and Tobago.

• Djerassi Artists Residency Program, California, USA.

• UNESCO Aschberg Bursaries for Artists’ Residency,

Centro Colombo Americano, Colombia

Awards

• CommonWealth Arts and Craft Awards ,2007

• ResArtis Award, Dakar Prize. 2007

• The LEF Foundation, Lava Thomas and Peter Danzig Fellowship, DRAP, USA

• UNESCO Aschberg Bursaries for Artists, 2007

• Best Graduating Student Prize, Dept. of Fine and Applied Arts, University of Nigeria, Nsukka-2001

APPOINTMENT(S)

Member - 3 Member Regional Panel of Judges (Africa): Commonwealth Connections Residency, 2009

Selected Bibliography

• Sola, Balogun, “Ugochukwu Eke: Mirroring Society on Goethe Stage”, Daily Sun, (November 2006): 32

• Tajudeen, Sowole, “Eke’s Environ – Scope …., Beauties from the dumpsite”, The Guardian Life, (December 2006): Vol. 2, No. 11.

• Ozolua, Uhakheme, “Environ – Scope: Using Art to save Environment”, Daily Independent, (December 2006)

• Chuka, Nnabuife, “Environ – Scope … Bright Eke sets forth on Conceptual path”, The Guardian, (November 2006), 89.

• Ozioma, Onuzulike, “Presenting the ‘Unpresentable’: Bright Eke’s Installation Art” Catalogue, (November 2006)

Holes

2007-10-29T19:56:00.000-07:00

Holes

2007-10-29T19:50:00.000-07:00

Shields

2007-10-29T17:49:00.000-07:00

Shields are raincoats and umbrellas made from plastic water sachets which has become a menace to the environment

Shields

2007-10-29T17:35:00.000-07:00

ART AS SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: Bright Ugochukwu Eke, By Chinedu Ene-orji

2007-10-29T17:30:00.000-07:00

Artists have always been the custodians of every society’s conscience and critical culture. They have always had the burden of social commitment, profound thought, and far reaching vision that is able to penetrate the rubble of today, to espy the future. For most visual artists, their initial solo exhibits can be likened to a rites of passage ritual or a coming of age ceremony. Any neophyte must go through tutelary rigours before being called to prove his mettle. This is usually achieved under the guidance and kind consideration of an experience elder that guides the initiate through the turbulent and treacherous landscape of that society. It is within this matrix that one will try to situate the praxis of Bright Ugochukwu Eke.

The Fine and Applied Arts department of the University of Nigeria Nsukka, has consistently been a proponent of cutting edge art. The philosophy of this art school is hinged on African tradition, experiment, exploration, and social commitment ¹ Today one of the pillars upon which this art institution rests is the eminent sculptor El Anatsui. Anatsui has gradually but consistently built a global reputation for himself as an artist, teacher and promoter of contemporary Nigerian art.² Bright Eke has benefited immensely from both the institution and individual. He graduated from this department where he read sculpture and is presently rounding off on MFA programme under the supervision of Anatsui.

Bright Eke is among a select, but increasing number of young Nigerian artists who have engaged the postmodern mode of art presentation. What is postmodernism you may ask? Postmodernism is simply a cultural mood. Hence art that falls within this province can be classified as art without principles in contrast with modernism. ³ So that postmodern art is not hedged in by boundaries like sculpture, painting, and ceramics. It is a boundary breading behemoth that straddles the entire landscape, permitting the use of any creative strategy to resolve problems. It is an art form where the creative process, content and materials are as important as the finished art work itself. Hence this mode has to be “read” to understand its import.

From prehistoric period when man began to draw on the walls of caves, to the present, his environment has always been his source of inspiration and thematic concern.⁴Bright Eke has deployed his sensitivity, intellect and creativity by harnessing and transforming ubiquitous materials into elements with which he makes profound artistic statements. That is, statements that have the capacity to rouse one from slumber into the immediacy of the danger that threatens. His major thematic concern is the environment, and the medium he has deployed to this effect is water.

Beyond the mixing of pigments, water is not usually perceived as a medium of creativity. Bright Eke has however, reversed this notion. He has used water effectively, both conceptually and physically, to convey his ideas about environmental degradation and the poor quality water available for human consumption. His works resonate with global and local issues.

`Acid rain comes to mind immediately. The artist uses the work to interrogate the phenomenon of acid rain. This environmental hazard is a product of man’s quest to improve his quality of life. Gaseous products of industrialization emitted into the atmosphere, are washed back to Earth by rainfall as a mild acid. In the long run, this has a harmful effect on the earth and all things on it. Acid Rain is a conceptual interpretation of Bright Eke’s experience and understanding of the acid rain phenomenon. It is not enough for the artist to alert us on imminent danger. It is also his prerogative to suggest a leeway out of this quagmire.

Shield is bright Eke’s antidote for the menace of acid rain. He conjoins polythene sachets used for packaging table water into raincoats and umbrellas. These sachets because of improper disposal techniques now constitute an environmental hazard. So these waste materials are now imbued with utility: for protection against environmental hazards. But we could stretch this shield as metaphor: to save us from ourselves vis a vis suicide bombers, nuclear attack and biological weapons of mass destruction that have become so ominous today.

Public Tap is a reminder of the fact that amidst the abundance of water resources, there is hardly good quality water for domestic consumption. This environmental monument is a trope for dry taps, broken pipes, long and arduous treks in search of water, unprotected and unhygienic sources of water. It is a symbol of want and deprivation.

Scarcity is another commentary on the state of arrested development of public utilities. It etches on ones mind, a picture of motion without movement. It speaks eloquently about the pain and energy expended in search of water, one of the basic needs of man.

Urban landscape is a metaphor for the fact that a large aspect of the Nigerian population lives in and off junk and use mostly second hand materials. It is a case of living in a “Tokunbo age” and being afflicted with a “second hand syndrome”. It is for these reasons that Bright Eke installs the bird’s eye view of an urban setting using waste and discarded materials.

The installation of flags made from discarded polythene bags is aptly title World Flag on the day of convention and deliberation on ecological disasters. This work illustrates the legend, “ All nation are equal but some are more equal than others”. While a few nations appropriate, produce and enjoy the resources of the Earth, others serves as dump sites for the waste products of their profligacy.

Back to the Shore revisits the issue of environmental degradation by highlighting the phenomenon of dumping waste in water bodies or exporting them to unwary and underdeveloped nations. This vessel loaded to its brim with cargo of toxic industrial waste was steered back to the shore upon the realization of its deleterious effect on the environment or by enforcement. Here, Bright Eke preaches the appropriate disposal of waste materials and a better deal for developing nations that are usually the target destinations.

In all, this of body of work speaks about vigilance, responsibility and equitable use and conservation of the earth’s resources. Though these works do not bears the characteristics of conventional art, they are by no means less effective in communicating their meaning. No doubt, these works need to the explained, to gain access to them; they also challenge the intellect of the viewer. And because it may not satisfy the rabid appetite of the collector, this makes it more of a public property. This is because upon proper interrogation of these works, they imprint themselves more in the viewers mind and provide it with food for thought and not necessarily aesthetic delight alone.

For Bright Eke, this exhibit, a coming of age ceremony of sorts, is only the beginning of a long and torturous journey. He has not made a statement yet, but he is still acquiring the vocabulary that will strengthen his creative and expressive powers. Subsequent outings will prove his eloquence or stagnation. However, this body of work goes to illustrate the role artists should play in their communities as watchdogs, umpires, activists, and social commentators.

Chinedu Ene-Orji

Artist and writer.

Department of fine and Applied Arts.

University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

REFERENCES

Simon Ottenberg, Seven Artists of the Nsukka Group. Washington, D. C: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1997.

John Picton et al, El Anatsui A Sculpted History of Africa. London, Saffron Books and October Gallery, 1998.

Eric Fernie, Art History and its Methods. London, Phaidon Press Limited, 1995.

Richard G. Tansey and Fred S. Kleiner, Gardners Art Through The Ages. Forthworth, Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1996.

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PAGE 1

Public tap

2007-10-29T17:20:00.000-07:00

Public Tap: shows the essence of water as a life given source

Scarcity

2007-10-29T17:16:00.000-07:00

Engaging ripples

2007-10-29T17:13:00.000-07:00

Engaging Ripples was also one of the pieces i produced for my MFA projects in 2006 under the theme- WATER: medium, idea, and concept for sculpture. In some places in Africa, the rivers and other bodies of water have been seen as communal boundaries. The water ripples and their interlocking movements reminds us that water is not a boundary, rather, it is a meeting point of all people. I got silt(sand from the bottom of the river), and created the ripple-like effect to show the marriage of people, cultures and places.

Back from Shore

2007-10-29T17:00:00.000-07:00

'Back from shore' is made from a bunch of craps retrieved from the water body. Pollution and contamination has become a household slang, yet it seems to be in the increase! We need water most but it also appears as if it is despised. 'Back from Shore' references the urban-industrial wastes or effluents which end up in the rivers and ocean. Some industrial nations also ship and dump their toxic industrial wastes into their neighboring nations' water body.

Urban Landscape

2007-10-29T16:46:00.000-07:00

Urban landscape shows deposition of garbage as another consequence of industrialization and consumer attitude.

Water na Water

2007-10-29T16:38:00.000-07:00

World Flags on the day of convention and deliberation on ecologocal disasters

2007-10-29T16:33:00.000-07:00

World flags…represent national flags made from ‘plastic’ packages and shopping bags. The world needs to brainstorm on how to curb the effect of these materials on the environment.

Exiled from River of Oil

2007-10-29T16:23:00.000-07:00

Body and soul dialogue

2007-10-29T15:47:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time...Water, Land,Air,and Man.2007

2007-10-29T15:34:00.000-07:00

Voice of the Earth

2007-10-29T14:46:00.000-07:00