INTERNATIONALLY renowned Nigerian American artist, Victor Ekpuk, will be showing a body of his work, at the Princeton Art Museum, USA, from July 22 through October 8, 2023.
Titled, Victor Ekpuk: Language and Lineage,” the exhibition “brings together paintings, works on paper, and sculptures that underscore key aspects of his practice as a visual artist, illustrator, commentator, and global citizen,” according to a statement by Annabelle Priestley, a Curatorial Assistant to the museum.
Dr Priestly writes further: “Known for his expressive multimedia works of art inspired by Nsibidi, an ancient system of communication from southern Nigeria and northwest Cameroon that features a rich ideographic script.
Using Nsibidi as well as characters borrowed from other cultures and his own vibrant systems of expression, Ekpuk celebrates the syncretism of multicultural societies.
“Inspired by the efficiency of Nsibidi in conveying intricate ideas, Ekpuk combines simplicity of form with complexity of interpretation.
Building on the portraiture tradition, the artist explores stylized depictions of human heads and masks, in which carefully planned compositions leave space for chance and improvisation in the drawing of the background script.
From this dense network of signs, Ekpuk selects forms that will morph into subjects for new works of art.
The artist explains, “I excavate my own work to create new work. The background of my works is composed of various forms, and sometimes I go in and take what interests me to create new work.”
Combining Nsibidi with philosophical reflection, Ekpuk created a version of In Deep Water especially for Art@ Bainbridge. This monumental enlargement on canvas of an earlier drawing invites us to reflect on the importance of memory in defining personal and collective histories.
-Annabelle Priestley PhD @annabelle.priestley
