My role is to preserve culture through art – Chidinma Yemisi Mordi

Chidinma Yemisi Mordi is a multidisciplinary artist who through her passion and love for arts has been able to evolve her skills and use different mediums to express her art. In this interview with Daily Trust on Sunday, Chidinma speaks on her arts and inspirations. Before art, what was your plan in terms of your […]

Chidinma Yemisi Mordi is a multidisciplinary artist who through her passion and love for arts has been able to evolve her skills and use different mediums to express her art. In this interview with Daily Trust on Sunday, Chidinma speaks on her arts and inspirations.

Before art, what was your plan in terms of your career path?

I had always wanted to study architecture for as long as I can remember. My grandpa B was an architect before he passed and I remember stumbling into his drafting room as a kid. His architectural drawings were so intriguing and detailed, I used to follow him around while he inspected the construction works on site and that piqued my interest for architecture early.

How do you approach fresh projects and come up with new ideas?

I am usually inspired by my day-to-day activities and watching Nigerians go about their work and enterprises, from market places to mechanic shops just watching Nigerians interact with themselves and the systems inspires me. I look forward to road trips because that would mean seeing villagers cycling on the roads or farming by the roadside. I also pick ideas from African and Nigerian fiction novels. When an idea is planted, I begin to picture colours that will adequately translate the feeling I get around a potential painting and then I make sketches. While I develop the sketches and add flesh to it, I like to keep my mind open for the painting to take another form as I work. Sometimes a painting turns out to be totally different from what I imagine in my head and I have learnt to cherish it as much.

What mediums are you comfortable with and why?

I work with any viable material that I can get my hands on. From newspapers and charcoal, to oil pastels, to wool on canvas but I’m most comfortable working with acrylic on canvas when I’m not producing a digital painting on my iPad.

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Can you take us through your creative process for your latest exhibition ‘Onyemaechi: who knows tomorrow’?

Onyemaechi: No one knows tomorrow (2023) is a group of digital paintings, bringing together both new and reprised works from ongoing series that draws inspiration from my father’s name. It derives its essence from the pleasant unpredictability of the future, it embraces the many feelings associated with the experience of being Nigerian. The joys and hope we hold on to in our different spaces and the simple yet precious moments that come while navigating struggles and hardships. Certain pieces were born from real life events while others are from musings about life’s many possibilities. The main objective is to highlight the beauty of the present while living through the anticipation or expectations that come with life’s unexpected turns. With the splurge of colours and every pattern depicted, there is a representation of hopes held for a better life. Some paintings in this exhibition are literal translations of these emotions while others hold more meaning than apparent. Fundamentally, this body of work invites the viewer to reflect on their life’s journey and to consider that while we may pave our way in life through our dreams and efforts, there are certain experiences and turn of events that are simply a creation of a power greater than ours.

So far, what have been the reviews from the exhibition?

I’ve gotten great reviews so far. I was particularly intrigued by someone’s summary of my art style, “Chaos” they called it. I had the opportunity of interacting with the observer and was able to explain that quite frankly the Nigerian experience is chaotic and ironically beautiful as well. I like to believe my paintings depict what Chinua Achebe meant when he said, “Being Nigerian is abysmally frustrating and unbelievably exciting.”

Are you comfortable working on your own or do you prefer to work in a team?

While I very much welcome the idea of working on a joint project, I believe that an artist’s ideas are best understood and translated by the artist. I enjoy working on my own because I am relieved of any pressure to attain perfection on a project. I can take my time and I can change the path a painting takes.

Can you share a real-life situation that inspired you or any of your works?

There’s a painting I made in 2017, it’s titled “Saturday Morning” it carries the narration that there exists a beautiful atmosphere of serenity, purpose and satisfaction of the house chores we did on Saturday mornings, that most Nigerian homes did on Saturday mornings. The painting portrays people washing and drying clothes carrying Ankara patterns and designs on the lines. It’s one of my favourite pieces.

As an artist, what role do you think you play in society?

Because my paintings are usually inspired by the lives of all Nigerians in different social classes, literature that carries stories of Nigerians and our culture at large, I believe that I can play my part in the preservation of my culture through art.

What elements are essential to an artist’s work? When working on multiple projects, how do you manage your time?

Every artist knows what inspires them, so I believe it is important that an artist ensures they’re always in the vicinity of inspiration, this does not include rest because rest is very essential. I’ve been quite privileged to be blessed with speed. And because I’m usually excited about seeing how my paintings turn out the process picks up speed.

Overtime, will you say your work has evolved and in what way?

Oh absolutely, it took me some time to find my style and figure out how to weigh up all the many elements and colours I like to work with. I’ve seen my work move from almost descriptive human forms to silhouettes to balance out the many patterns and colours I like to use.

What challenges do you encounter in your work?

A creative block might be the most challenging thing I face as an artist. There are moments when nothing brings inspiration and its tough navigating through those seasons of drought. But eventually I come out of it by interacting with works by other artists, visiting galleries and doing research.

How important is the support you receive from family?

Growing up as a little girl who had the passion for art, my parents supported me greatly. I’m told often how they stopped repainting the walls in my childhood home as I constantly drew on them. They laminated my drawings and saved them in files for posterity. From long hours of driving me around to get art supplies on an empty stomach most days, to waiting hours while I had my paintings framed at art workshops, my dad has really been my biggest cheerleader. I am very privileged to receive support from my family, it makes me believe that I can produce the best works and it fuels me to dream that my paintings will travel across the globe and impact people I may never be able to meet.

Describe the perfect working environment

I like to paint with music playing in the background or a movie in view, I think I adopted this routine from my days as an architecture student drawing overnight in the studio with music playing in the background. It’s my perfect environment.

If you could go back in time, is there anything you’d like to add or change?

If I could go back in time, I wouldn’t change a thing. I am where I am meant to be, and I hold on to my faith knowing that I am being led by God along the best pathway for my life according to Psalm 32:8.