5 Nigerian artist with unusual but fascinating art medium

kehinde omotosho

August 17, 2017 10:53 AM

Pencil and paper is about the first thing that comes to mind when you think of art, but with these Nigerian artists, there is no limit to the medium of expression. Check them out.

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Over the years, art in Nigeria has developed into something really fascinating, thanks to a good number of artists.

When it comes to fine art, nothing comes to mind other than a pencil and a paper, but with artists like Peju Alatise, Victor Ehikhamenor, Laolu Senbanjo and a bunch of other talented artists, art has evolved beyond the scope of just pencil on paper. The beauty of art is being unravelled and unveiled.

From using pieces of Ankara fabrics to junks, these 5 Nigerian artists have given expressions to their artworks.

1. Peju Alatise

Mixed-medium artist, skilled poet and a writer with a degree in architecture Alatise has practised as a studio artist for over thirteen years and has addressed several social, political and gender issues as the subject matter.

Alatise, known majorly for sculpting captures the joys and pains of womanhood in her works using mediums like cloth, beads and wood.

2. Victor Ehikhamenor

Nigeria award winning visual artist, writer and photographer, Victor Ehikhamenor draws influence from traditional African motifs and cosmology.

With fabrics being his major canvas, Ehikhamenor uses his art as a medium of intervention in political conversations within, and outside Nigeria.

3. Marcellina Akpojotor

Mixed media artist, Akpojotor, uses pieces of Ankara fabrics as a simple expression of her creative personality.

The artist who is passionate about the subject of feminity is known for crafting women of all tribes in Nigeria in her art pieces.

4. Nnenna Okorie

Okorie is one artist who creates abstract sculptures from textural materials, inspired by the ingenious ways discarded materials are used in the rural areas of her Nigeria.

Speaking on her use of decaying materials, Okorie says “As long I have been old enough and conscious enough to talk and think, I remember being drawn to certain elements in my surroundings. I was drawn to things like fibre and trees and roots. My works that are beginning to speak about age and the process of decay were triggered by gaining a better understanding of the materials that I use — old rope, sticks, paper, tend to break down over time. I’ve been really enamoured by how at the beginning of creating my work, two years later, they change and transform in themselves and become a really different body of work.”

5. Moses Tuki

30-year-old Nigeria artist, Moses Tuki who has been nicknamed "Nigerian Iron man," creates extraordinary sculptures from junk and iron sheets considered to be a waste and it's incredible how amazing these pieces have turned out to be.

These Nigerian artists aren't only impressing us with their art but inspiring us as they show us with their art that there is no limit to whatever kind of medium you choose to express your art.

kehinde omotosho