‘I want to immortalize fabrics’ – Zoza Icha

What is Asah Bara? Asah and Bara are two very old Hebrew words. ‘Asah’ means the creative power of God where He said be, and it becomes. It is the word for creating, making anything out of nothing and it is only God who has that power. ‘Bara’ is the creative power of man when […]

What is Asah Bara?

Asah and Bara are two very old Hebrew words. ‘Asah’ means the creative power of God where He said be, and it becomes. It is the word for creating, making anything out of nothing and it is only God who has that power. ‘Bara’ is the creative power of man when you are able to produce things from what he has created.

When did you decide to translate your expertise as a textile designer into this?

Well, it started with being bored. Bored with what the options were, bored with my lecturers, bored with their own scope. I found it to be very limiting, very myopic, very small. The kind of student I was, I was always interested in trying new things. I wanted Industrial Design that’s why I went for the course. The way the course is done here in Nigeria, we do two years general courses and when you are getting to your third year, you specialize and as we got to that stage, everybody was saying Textile Design is so hard. People were looking for the one that was easy but I was like Textile Design is what I want to do and I went for it. I was the only girl in my class and the top of the class till I left.

I wanted to do something with fabric that had never been seen before. I was interested in doing something new. Even though they say there is nothing new under the sun, I do not subscribe to that because I believe every person that is born is brand new. I wanted a new idea that would become fresh. I started experimenting with lots of different chemicals. Even when we were given assignments, I went to Lagos when my mates limited their searches to Kaduna.

I started experimenting with all sorts of chemicals and bothering myself, as most of my classmate would say. Eventually I found an idea that I started toying with. At first it did not work. What I wanted to do was to immortalize fabrics. I felt that you wear, wash fabric, it fades you get tired of it, you leave it alone. Then I thought what was the point of sitting down here to draft this design because you sit here someone can throw them away so I decided to immortalize them. I started trying a lot of chemical mixtures. I spent a lot of time in the chemistry department asking questions and trying things. I came upon a particular kind of rhenium that is not meant for this use but I said you know what, let me try and combine the ideas. Rhenium is a chemical you use on fabric. It serves as a starch but a stronger one. It has weight if you want the fabric to be concrete hard. I started combining to see and it worked. So I did my final year project on that. I got people in the Sculpture Department to help me achieve what I wanted to do with life size objects and after school I just kept the idea in my mind as what I would eventually do.    

Do you buy ready-made mugs or you make them from scratch?

There are mugs that are done from scratch, but I personally do not make mugs. I design them and I have people who produce them. But in situations where I am using mugs like these (pointing at a row of mugs) that are factory bought, I give credit to the makers and the owners. Like if you see a post about something like this, you find a shade of Ikea. Wherever they go, they are legally protected; no problem of plagiarismor copyright.

What about the fabric patterns how do you give credit on these?

I do my best to find out who makes the fabric, you know if I use a High Target wrapper for instance, it will be credited there, especially to the person who bought it, it will be indicated that this fabric was made ByHigh Target. I am a textile designer by training and if I made the fabric myself, it becomes 10 times more expensive because you are taking my time to turn a fabric that was once plain into a pattern. I was saying about the names and credit that I have given to whatever fabrics I am using, I let them know for instance that I do a lot of work with “Devza.” Before I started this officially,I went to Ghana “Devza” to tell them this is what I am doing and they were very excited about it and I asked if there is any paper to sign but they said no, that this is new, if you can use devza to make it, go ahead. This are the kind of people that make sure things are done correctly.

How do the shapes of your base objects influence the design that you decide to create on them?

Generally, the shapes do not really matter in terms of what I decide to do but it does matter when it comes to the method of applying it.

What are your favourite objects to work with?

Well, I have not stumbled on a favourite object yet because there is nothing I am not capable of working on. Regardless, the regular things I work on are ceramics, glass, wood and metal. I particularly enjoy ceramics. I am a Christian, someone who stands on her faith. A lot of artists believe they live an upside down life. Being creative is like God trusting you with a specify ability.

Who has had the most influence in you in terms of creativity?

I hate this question and I get it a lot because it is not that there is no answer.There is, but it makes people uncomfortable. Unless you know me personally, it gives a wrong impression about me. A lot of people think I am proud. But in Industrial Design in Nigeria, I have not found a model and I am searching. If there is anybody teaching it I can subject myself to it, because all of this is self-taught. Nobody taught me what to do. I have not found a role model. The kind of art I do is not regular. I think in a very different way. There are few people who do works like this on the other side and I find out I influence people in doing things like this.

What is your favorite colour?

I particularly enjoy shades of orange because orange is a very stubborn colour and anything can go wrong. I guess orange challenges me.Things like blue or green are submissive, very calm. I like challenges and I am not afraid of them. If you tell me I cannot do this, that’s when I will not sleep. It’s between red and orange but because I make things for customers I do not have any limits.

How much would you charge for a set?

It depends on what you want me to do with it and I charge on my work based on the time it takes me to make it. If you are ready to pay for my time, good and if not there are smaller options.

What is the difference between your dated and undated work?

The dated work is probably what I will not repeat that same year. It is the privilege I give to my client. You’re in control of your art, you decide what you want to do with it.

What are the most requested items?

It has changed over a period and I guess it is what you present to the audience, like the talking mugs such as No Wahala, Suru Lere, The Gele Girls, Longer Throat cups and soup bowls, so many of them.

Every piece of my work comes with the Nigerian Flag. It is a way of saying there is good in Nigeria; there is smart, quality, different in Nigeria. Whereas most people would not like to identify that they are Nigerians, I am daring to say I am a proud Nigerian.