Contemporary Nigerian artist, George Edozie has
revealed that his works will be on display at the Museum of Contemporary Art
(MOCA), Miami, United States of America (USA).
Edozie said this during a media chat in Lagos, adding
that the show titled; Shifting the
Paradigm, will open on December 1 and runs until February 26, 2015. “I am
looking at showing our culture to the international community,” he said.
He asserted that his works for this show will not focus
on the negative part of Nigeria; rather the works will showcase the positive
side of Africa and its culture.
“The works are not business as usual where an artist
complains about where he lives. Africans
are corrupt, Nigerians are corrupt, just a little chunk of the population, not
everyone.
“The earlier we start showing the world the positive
part of where we are coming from, the better for us. I am not going to paint a
bad picture of Nigeria with my works,” he said.
George Edozie will display seven paintings of mixed
media and seven massive fabric sculptures, which he produced within three
months. The works are titled in Igbo language and depict Onisha culture in Anambra
State, where the artists come from.
The Director of Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), Miami,
United States of America (USA), Dr Babacar M’Bow, who is the first African-American heading the museum,
believes there should be a paradigm change the way African art is being viewed
and presented because it has made imparts in contemporary art.
For this reason, the museum is organising this exhibition
and Edozie will be representing Africa.
“Edozie’s inspirational compositions and the way he
uses the fabric to present traditional spirit and interpret them in a contemporary
fashion,” is why he was selected to represent Africa said Chinwe Uwatse, who is
the curator of the Nigeria side of the show, “not necessarily the names
everybody has been hearing, but to show something fresh, new, inspiring,
exuberant for the world to know who we are, what we are and what we are capable
of doing.”
While Professor of Africana Studies and Director of
Philosophy, International and Culture (PIC), Department of Africana Studies,
Binghamton University, USA, Prof Nkiru Nzegwu and the owner of Africa House in
New York, USA, is the curator of the exhibition in USA.
