An Odyssey of Hope
Segun Ade-Martins
At approximately 7 pm on Wednesday, December 7, Nduwhite Ndubuisi A. “opened” the doors to Nkiruka, his first solo exhibition in a decade, at the exclusive BNL Bouygues Club House by Jabi Lake in Abuja. Nduwhite has emerged from “the near-apocalyptic end” of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown to usher in hope for a “greater future.”
Although his works are highly detailed and encoded with deep thought, Nduwhite refuses to wear the label “meticulous.” Even though numerous viewers praised not only the work but the installation as well for its intricate display. The truth is that this exhibition had its ups and downs coming into the world. This is because he is a man with numerous duties and responsibilities, he is one of the “busiest people in the art world”
The COVID-19 pandemic has been the most challenging global event in recent times. The art industry suffered devastating blows when exhibition spaces shut down, and when Nduwhite’s endeavours at the IICD Center and Abuja Open House were halted during the pandemic, he turned to his artwork. In 2020, he “ritualised” his process and embarked on an adventure with materials and a mesmerising technique in painting. Of course, the driving impetus was to “seek meaning” in the world through meditative thought, which he performed through an incredible organisation of his home life and studio space. Nkiruka can be delineated into three major categories. The larger abstract acrylic paintings are first, followed by the smaller purely abstract paintings, and finally the small-scale soft sculptures. The larger paintings with irregular geometric patterns consist of exquisite, intricate spirals with different hues and shades of hues woven tightly in patterns that can be described as spiro-metric.
At first glance, the larger works with titles like “Duality” and “Innocence” appear entirely abstract, but when you take a step back, anthropomorphic forms emerge, adding new meaning to the work. Some of these spiro-metric paintings have Adinkra symbols embedded. These works allude to a broader pan-African context.
The smaller pure abstract painting series titled “Building Blocks” evoke visceral emotions, and the titles of the works add an intellectual context to the pieces.
The soft sculptures invoke the idea of synesthesia – a cognitive process that allows a person to experience stimuli meant for one sensory organ to be perceived by another sensory organ. For example, musical melodies can be perceived as hues or shades of colours by the listener. A recorded phenomenon that can be impossible to grasp. These soft sculptures are an assemblage of found objects, a guitar, toy cars, gear cogs, and vinyl records.
The entire body of work has three to five layers of elements that requires multiple viewings and multiple conversations to unravel the “thought forms” encoded within. Just as this artist has digested his thoughts over time, you need extensive time to unpack those thoughts, perhaps as an owner or as a visitor to a museum.
As with everything under the sun, nothing is perfect. Therefore, the exhibition can be deemed a success with caveats. The opening event was effectively an exclusive display based on the choice of exhibition space. The BNL Life Camp is a highly secure and exclusive expatriate community estate as it is allowed to be. Although not intentionally, the high security and relatively unknown location reduced what should have been a bigger crowd on the opening night. However, with less of a rush on subsequent days, visiting the space was easier. Hopefully, people were able to visit the exhibition after the opening.
The space feels bigger and brighter in the daytime, and the works illuminate the space with their magical quality.
The impact on its audience was impressive because Nduwhite is a household name in the Nigerian art community and the works as a collection resonate aesthetically and intellectually. This is also evidenced because, on a second visit, more than 30% of the work had been sold. Nonetheless, the attendance at the opening night could have been better, especially with the artist’s stature in the art community. Hence, the low attendance could be to the exclusive nature of the venue and the effectiveness of the awareness communication. Considering the humongous undertaking of the Abuja Open House in October 2022 and subsequent back-to-back engagements, Nduwhite can be pardoned for slight neglect of his solo exhibition. This is the nature of pure artists who see their works as spiritual gifts, unfortunately, many a time they put almost everybody before themselves. However, the quality of the work and the goodwill of Nduwhite have allowed this body of work to be well received, albeit amongst a smaller pool of people.
