By Udemma Chukwuma
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| Chima |
Uchay Joel Chima can be described as one of the established
artists in Nigeria. Over the last couple of years, the Lagos based painter has
been making waves in the art scene, as well as in the international art stage. He
is a multi-media artist who explores various
medium such as charcoal, thread, paint, wax, sand and multiplicities objects.
He tells Arts
and Culture Place that he is not the type to be constraint by materials.
“Each project often consists of multiple works,
in a range of different media, grouped around specific themes and meanings.
During research and production, new areas of interest arise and lead to the
next body of work,” Chima explains.
String Hypothesis is the title of his ongoing art exhibition at
the IICD Centre in Abuja. The art show, which opened Thursday, May 12, consists
twenty-five of his recent works. The exhibition will run till Sunday, May 30,
2016.
Humans, he says, are designed for making
connections. “In the work, Damsels, I
elected to work with materials that I believe are synonymous with the notions
of bonding, togetherness, intimacy, friendship and entanglement; strings and thread.
Chima graduated in 1997 from the Institute of
Management and Technology, Enugu, where he studied Fine and Applied Art. He
unveils paintings and thought provoking installations that dissect the anatomy
of realities around us whilst employing conventional and unconventional
approaches in his restless exploration.
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Dwelling in
Abundance
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“I enjoy spending quiet moments observing nature and
my environment, exploring shapes, colours and designs; my interpretation of
objects and subjects that are delightful to the eyes, I transfer to boards and
canvases poetically,” he says.
Chima’s artworks have continued to evolve, remaining
relevant to developments in contemporary art.
The artist has also been developing a body of
work using video since 2008.
He is currently working on short films and a project
called Residue Collection of Societal and
Environmental Mishaps (HABITAT LOSS).
The project according to him aims at promoting and creating awareness
concerning contemporary lifestyle, both with regard to socio-economic
circumstance and environmental conservation.
His works have exhibited in Nigeria, South
Africa, Canada, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany and the
Netherlands.
He also talks about the focus of his works; “When
working on environmental issues, lots of things flood my mind. Environmental
impediments don’t just show up but like a chain reaction, one abnormality hooks
up with another side of life and erupts leaving us with a deformed society
marked by homelessness, loneliness, hunger, insecurity, violence, war,
including environmental disasters like erosion menace.
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| Some of Chima's works on display |
“The above, most often, are the things that
inform my work. While I use a variety of materials and processes in each
project my methodology is consistent. Although there may not always be material
similarities between the different projects, they are linked by recurring
formal concerns and through the subject matter. The subject matter of each body
of work determines the materials and the forms of the work.”
