By Luciano Uzuegbu
Not until I
took lessons in Rhetoric at the University did I realize the meaning of
creativity; or maybe I knew what creativity meant, but it just never became
practical for me, and that might have accounted for my missing a whole point in
what my father used to tell me, “you have to decide your focus in a camera
lens.” By the way, he was the best photographer I ever knew who by the
pre-photoshop era of 1961 had completed a study in photography in Japan, and in
1962, started working for the federal government of Nigeria. He had kept a dark
room where he performed miracles with negative films, transferring images to
papers to reveal exactly his focus; and I can argue, from the vantage of
hindsight, that his perspectives were often uniquely personalized.
Rhetoric,
like my father’s magic with cameras opened my mind to broader appreciation of
concepts and situations such that I can analyse and define them by my personal
experience with them, than by mere suggestions of popular notion. This
emphasizes the place of devotion and communion, which brook insightful
interaction in whatever our minds engage.
***
Nengi Omuku’s Stages of Collapse,
an exhibition of her recent paintings will open on September 29, at September
Gray Gallery in Atlanta. Significantly, it will be her first solo in the US,
and come as a remarkable collaboration between Cuverley and September Gray.
It will be
interesting to see how she stands alone when all the focus will be on her art,
away from the distractions at the Amory group show also in the US, which
earlier had featured a few of her older works, amongst several by other
artists.
Cuverley’s mission is reposed in a
personal affinity for the arts, which has been nurtured to lead a generational
development of contemporary art from Africa, and the Africa Diaspora. It is a
consciousness, which happens upon artistic talents cutting across artists,
curators, gallerists and art managers, and exploiting their propensity to imbue
humanity with such a profound experience of life. September Gray Fine Art Gallery
(SGAG), also specializing in contemporary works by established, mid-career and
emerging African American and African diasporic artists, emerges as a veritable
partner on the vanguard of preserving the African diasporic cultural legacy and
narrative. Thus a break-through beckons on us all; the artists, curator and art
managers to discover something worthwhile, something that tends to reconnect
and resolve an elusive past, especially of childhood or innocence, which leaves
us with a sense of great fulfillment. For all we may know, a reputation is
being molded here, which hopefully will inspire and celebrate more special
moments with fate.
My association with artists (Nengi Omuku
inclusive) refreshes my notion of a curator’s role, and saddles me with the
concern about creating a platform to make their art more visible and
assessable, if only to secure the social and economic gains of their endeavors.
How I achieve this objective often depends on my personalized skills, including
practical strategies such as, building partnerships (“you have to decide your
focus in a camera lens”). But first, I must convince myself of having
learned the artists reasonably.
Besides relying on your knowledge of art
history as a curator, you will find it important to abandon your overt
presumptions, and engage artists with your whole being – mind and emotion;
learning their personalities, working methods and the inspirations underlying
their creations. Such interactions usually mute suggestions to the mind, which
become purposefully aligned with several other notions, or experiences to
contrive meanings that fairly interpret the art and artists to the public.
I remember wandering down this
surreal road with Nengi on our first meeting like a 3year-old being introduced
to a set of new toys. I had had the chance of observing firsthand and
intuitively matching forms, colours and subjects, just about anything that lent
order to meaning, and arriving at some insightful inferences, which otherwise
might have been shortchanged by a preconceived notion, or lack of deep and
participatory appreciation. Her art is eclectic, and holds much universal
appeal; if she was making music, to which she is also inclined (as she plays
violin) , she would be a Bjork. Her subliminal finishing is phenomenal, often
attempting to denude her of her African heritage, but for the evidence inherent
in her self-portrait painting, or occasional portrayal of black woven-hair as
predominantly won by African women.
In reality, Nengi’s works are as
open-ended as her mind tirelessly stretches the depths of her capacity to
communicate experiences beyond borders, including suppositions of alternative
reality. Her ‘focus’ within her space often has the propensity to stretch your
imagination beyond the possibility of the canvas, as it yields more meaning
with every single visitation. In confronting Omuku’s Stages of
Collapse, I therefore suggest an openness of mind that allows for
interactions with the individual and collective signposts inhabiting her space
and palette, together with their atmosphere, upon, which certain conclusions
can be richly negotiated.
Regarding
the inspiration behind Stages of Collapse, she points to her experience as a Nigerian born artist who trained and
lived most of her adult life in the United Kingdom. “This change in space and
exposure to another environment, created in me a heightened awareness of my
body in space. With every journey, I consider how human beings position
ourselves in space and see our bodies in relation to other beings…”says Nengi.
In relating
to the artistic culture back home in Nigeria, Nengi struggles with her
globalized persuasions, while providing alternative artistic paradigm with
regards to narrative and style. However, on the flip side, it will be exciting
to see how her artistic hybrid resonates among international viewers at
September Gray. Whatever
the outcome of Stages of Collapse, you can be sure it’s already a
win for the stakeholders (Cuverley, September Gray Gallery, Nengi and my humble
self) who already by ‘deciding their focus’ with the unveiling of this show are
most fulfilled.
