GEORGE EDOZIE, NIGERIA
The Spirits Came.
About:
The essence of art according to one of Nigerian modern artists, George Edozie is not just creating a piece of art work that is hanged on the wall as object of decoration.
To him, it is a medium which can be used to achieve a lot in the society, especially to address social-cultural, political and economic in a society.
Shifting the Paradigm, 2014 (installation view).
Shifting the Paradigm, 2014 (installation view)
“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, mirror the society that the work is created in. There should be a link between the artist and his work; one should be able to relate the artist with his works,” he said.
Edozie will be hosting his 4th solo art exhibition of paintings and sculptures, entitled: Afro Love starting from Saturday November 23 to 30, at Alexis Gallery, Victoria Island, Lagos. “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,” he noted.
“My ideology now is that art is a universal language which cut across different cultures or races. I have experienced over the years that people acquire works of art without knowing the artist’s cultural back ground, not speaking the same language with the artist or understanding the symbols and designs in the work but goes ahead to acquire the work because it makes an impression on them,” the artist said. About 20 paintings and sculptures including works such as 10 Faces of Onyeoma, Annunciation, and City Girls will be showcased during the exhibition. A common thread in most of these works is the feminine figures. The works are a combination of fabric and paints while the sculptures were made with fabrics of brilliant colours.
City Girls.
With 18 years experience in visual art profession, Edozie observed that some political, religious and economic 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 art in a society where governance is like slavery,” he said..
Annunciation.
Despite all these, “there is still love for the land. A work of art created in Africa happens to find its way abroad; people are marveled at the high creative ability of the African artist. The big question is do we continue to live in this society and still practices art or a much better society where we can do better. Where do we go from here……? Edozie asked.
Edozie was born in Enugu State; he studied Fine and Applied Arts at the University of Benin where he majored in Painting, and graduated with a BA (Hons Fine and Applied Arts) in 1996. He has participated in 69 group exhibitions within and outside Nigeria. He is also the co-author of the book 101 Contemporary Artist, A Celebration of Modern Nigerian Art and Nigerian Contemporary Art published in 2010.(text website The Nation by Udemma Chukwuma)