How fate connected two friends in Diffusion

They both knew they have an exhibition ahead of them. Each of them knew he would have a pair artist. But not until all were concluded, neither of them knew right on time that he was heading for the same exhibition floor with a friend. For 45 days, both Promise Onali and Chibuike Uzoma are […]

They both knew they have an exhibition ahead of them. Each of them knew he would have a pair artist. But not until all were concluded, neither of them knew right on time that he was heading for the same exhibition floor with a friend.

For 45 days, both Promise Onali and Chibuike Uzoma are putting up in Temple Muse, Lagos, 45 different artworks, comprising paintings and mixed media for arts lovers and fun seekers.

Tagged: Diffusion, the duo said they are using the exhibition to take critical look at the evolution of consciousness and how individual and communal identities are affected by history and socio-cultural advancement.

According to the exhibition curator, Sandra Obiago of the SMO Contemporary Art, both Onali and Uzoma are Nigerian artists who are friends, with both exploring fundamental questions from different ends of the artistic spectrum, employing diverse painting techniques and use of materials.

“When we began preparation to host Diffusion, which is being supported by VeuveClicquot, we were on the lookout for artists who are different in styles, yet with so much in common,” Obiago said.

“I never knew both of them are friends. And they really did not know in time that they are headed for the same art exhibition. I got to know that they have known each others for a while. And here we are today. The two of them are using their works to question our collective journey of emotional, spiritual and physical diffusion through time and space.”

Obiago added that Uzoma and Onali’s friendship and professional appreciation of each others’ different approaches to art is quite rare and refreshing.

She added, that “Onali’s exact, clinically scientific approach to painting and his commitment to the environment and scientific discovery is a wonderful contrast to Uzoma’s fluid, impulsive and exuberant style which stems from an intellectual curiosity influenced by thought leaders like Franz Fanon and Chinua Achebe.”

Born in 1982, Onali studied Fine Art at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, where he graduated with a degree in painting in 2007.

He said his passion for the use of diverse media to explore scientific questions such as the origin of evolution, is grounded in strong linearity and embryonic metaphors.  His fascinations with the expansion of individual and collective consciousness, he said, are evident in the subtle layers of his mixed media works.

“As you can see in some of the works in display, I put great consciousness into using remarkable linear style and experimentation with wood, paper, fiber, metal, wire, fabrics, polystyrene and paint on canvas. Basically, my love for comic books and science and his pre-occupation with figuring out the inner workings of things influenced my experimental painting style,” Onali said.

Twenty-seven years old Uzoma on the other hand, sees himself as a multi-disciplinary artist adept at painting, photography, drawing, and text.

A graduate of University of Benin, Uzoma said he is heading to Yale University for a Masters of Fine Arts degree later this year. He takes delight in using his works to reference contemporary politics in Africa and the Diaspora, while at the same time questions popular culture against the backdrop of global conflict.

“I do create visual poetry which reflects our universal struggle with identity in a fast changing universe. I try to make images that express the basic and necessary elements of human experience: freedom, love, joy, possibility, hope, and even tragedy,” he said. “In doing this, I take delight in slashes and splashes of color, creating abstract scenes and portraits heavy with sub-text, reflecting complex emotional mindscapes.”

A Professor of Art History and Theory, formerly at the University of Port-Harcourt, Prof. Frank Ugiomoh said Diffusion comes against a backdrop of contemporary social consciousness and how it connects to history as certainty lived out.

He added that what is evident in the body of work at the exhibition is the “overwhelming import of the place of consciousness, and the cerebral aspects of the human family symbolised in thought processes.”