The essence of art, according to one Nigerian artist, George
Edozie, is not just to create an artwork which one hangs on the wall as an
object of decoration, rather art, he says, should be a tool of communication for
addressing societal issues.
“A good work of art is created by the artist with his
body and soul and the art work should carry a strong message, record history and
mirror the society that the work is created in. There should be a link between
the artist and his work and one should be able to relate the artist with his
works,” says the full-time studio artist, who lives in Lagos, Nigeria.
Edozie is of the opinion that political,
religious, economic and other factors affect many artists not just in
Nigeria alone but also in Africa. “A closer look on life as an artist, life as
a young painter, struggling for survival, having left the Art school to
practice as an artist, married life as an artist, facing the society, the
struggle to convince people around you on your choice of profession, sourcing
for funds to create works of art, creating of art in a bizarre environment
without basic amenities, turning into a marketer to sell the works, struggling
to develop one’s spiritual life among colleagues and friends that are
atheist and still try to make good artwork in a society where governance
is like slavery; yet there is still love for the land,” says the painter/sculptor.
Edozie’s works are
widely collected within and outside the country. He
is one of the artists in Nigeria who started working with African fabric on
canvas. He combines it with paint and sometimes with newspaper. His inspirational compositions and the way he uses fabric
to present traditional spirit and interpret them in a contemporary fashion
stands him out. Also, his massive fabric sculptures are usually well detailed. You could feel the colours and textures
of his works.
He
has mentored many artists who are doing well; Uzoma Samuel Anyanwu being one of
them.
Edozie has
successfully curated more than twenty exhibitions in the USA, France, United Kingdom,
Ghana and Nigeria. A co-founder of Artzero;
an art group, and is co-author of the 101
Contemporary Artist, A Celebration of Modern Nigerian Art, published in
2010. “Before
now as an artist, I have tried to document the African artist because I found
out that the Nigerian art is not being documented that is why we wrote the book.”
In 2013 he had his fourth solo exhibition, titled Afro Love at Alexis Gallery in Lagos, where
he is currently an Art Consultant. “Afro Love
depicts the life of a creative person (artist), his struggles, his family
and love life, social and economic factors, the society he lives in,
how it affects his life as an artist, the challenges of an artist living in
Africa.”
Between December 2014
and February 2015, he participated in Art Basel at the Museum of Contemporary
Art, Miami, United States of America (USA), titled Shifting
the Paradigm. This made Edozie the first African to have a full show at the
Museum.
Born on May 11, 1972
in Enugu State, Nigeria, Edozie is from Onitsha in Anambra
State. He studied Fine and
Applied Arts at the University of Benin where he majored in painting and earned
a Bachelor of Arts (Fine and Applied Arts) in 1996. He has participated in over
sixty-nine group exhibitions within and outside Nigeria. He was part of the
exhibitions Africa Now, organized by the World Bank for emerging African Artist
at the World Bank main complex Washington DC USA in 2008 and African Way of
Art, La Galerie Vendome Paris France in 2011.
By Udemma Chukwuma
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