Victor Ekpuk – artist
Artist Victor Ekpuk takes inspiration from a secretive writing language of his native Nigeria to communicate universal themes. Though Victor understands only some of this sacred language called Nsibidi, he draws his own graphic black and white script as a narrative background to his art. He freely uses everything from sand to paint to black marker — along with a judicious pop of color — to express contemporary human experience. At one point an artist-in-residence in Amsterdam and now a U.S. citizen, Victor knows no boundaries in his world or his art.
All Fingers Are Not Equal, by Victor Ekpuk
Tell me a bit about Nsibidi. What is it, how much of it do you understand, and how does this inspire the script-like symbols you use in your art?
Nsibidi is an ancient form of sacred
communication among the male secret societies of the Ibibio, Efik,
Ejagham and Igbo peoples of southeastern Nigeria. It uses mime, speech,
and placement of objects and graphic symbols that represent concepts.
Being secret codes of communication, their meanings were revealed only
to initiates. Some aspects of these signs are secularized and used for
public notices and record keeping. The graphic aspect of Nsibidi thus
becomes one of Africa’s indigenous writing systems.
Not being a member of any of the societies that
use nsibidi, I only understand as much as I am allowed to, which is not a
lot. However, I was born into a culture where nsibidi is an open
secret. As a child I have often watched nsibidi being performed among
members of Ekpe and Ekpo secret societies. During ceremonial rites of
passage, some nsibidi signs were painted as decorations on the bodies of
maidens. I also learned to steer clear of sacred and restricted spaces
that were marked with nsibidi objects. I could compare this to the
yellow police tape at crime scenes or restricted areas in the western
societies.
Though my limited knowledge of nsibidi
signs today is from memory of observations and documented
anthropological archives, what I understand has immensely inspired the
direction my work has taken for the past two decades that I have been a
professional visual artist. My contact with nsibidi has inspired me to
use the essence of this ancient art form to express my contemporary
experience.
Orange Tulip by Victor Ekpuk
Maiden and Suitors by Victor Ekpuk
Blues Singer by Victor Ekpuk
I know your degree is in fine arts and
painting, but were you always artistic growing up? Were there any
particular influences or mentors that inspired your path as an artist?
As far back as I can remember, I could
draw good resemblances of objects and people before I learned how to
write. I would say that my mother was the first nurturer of my artistic
gift. At a very young age, she encouraged me to enter competitions. So
strong was my love for art that I could not think of anything else I’d
rather study in college, and my parents did not dissuade me from this
path. I am grateful to them for that.
Art school in Nigeria was where
I encountered the many cultural and artistic styles and
philosophies that have influenced my work. I was introduced to
forms in Yoruba art, Igbo art of body and mural drawing called Uli,
and nsibidi scripts from Ibibio people. Among the artists who were able
to contextualize these classical art forms into contemporary expression
were Agbo Folarin and Obiora Udechukwu. While these artists were not
directly mentoring me, their work presented a perspective through which I
realized my path as an artist.
Lullaby by Victor Ekpuk
You talk about using Nsibidi signs and
your own script symbols as a narrative background to your compositions.
Are you using these script symbols as a means of depicting human
discussion and interpretation of these larger themes or experiences?
The narrative background that I use in my
works is not necessarily nsibidi, per se; it is my invented
pseudo-writings that are generally not meant to be read literally but
rather to be appreciated holistically. Within this narrative,
however, are some recognizable symbols that are woven into the subtext
of the narrative. You are right that I intend to engage viewers to bring
their own interpretation and experiences to the works.
Fortune Teller by Victor Ekpuk
Fietspad Blues
Homesick Blues by Victor Ekpuk
Scape Goat by Victor Ekpuk
Do colors carry certain meanings or
vibrations for you? For example, does blue represent something
particular in works like Eternal Dreamer or Omniscience?
Certain colors do carry resonance with me.
I always seem to gravitate to ultramarine blue. I can’t say this is
always a conscious effort but few other colors quite convey the essence
of my work. Ultramarine blue seems to convey very primordial psychic
energy, so it is used in works like Eternal
Dreamer and Omniscience to express the human condition at the spiritual
level of consciousness.
On a mundane level, I like that ultramarine blue and primary red are visually arresting, especially against black backgrounds.
Eternal Dreamer by Victor Ekpuk
Omniscience by Victor Ekpuk
Is there a reason you draw your script
symbols in either black or white? Is that simply to allow larger color
shapes to stand out from that narrative, or is there an element of
contrast or opposition in human interaction that you intend to convey?
In my recent projects, I have decided to go back
to drawing as the basis of my work. I am exploring drawing as an
independent genre that is not a support for painting. The best way to do
that is to express it as directly as possible in simple black or white
lines on negative spaces.
When lines alone are what I have to use, the
quality and integrity of the lines, as well as design, become paramount
to the composition. Color in this case is used when needed to support
the drawing.
Perhaps the finished works create an element of
debate or opposition in human interactions as you have
stated. Viewers may be drawn to the works because of their aesthetic
affinity to them, or their resonance with the theme. I do not set out
to deliberately control how people perceive my work.
Child in the Wilderness by Victor Ekpuk
Sanctuary 2 by Victor Ekpuk
Kiss and Tell by Victor Ekpuk
I’m struck by the contemporary feel of
Night Watch and Medicine Bird. Is it just the relative simplicity of
these works that seems modern, or are you influenced at all by modernist
art forms and shapes?
I often get comments about how contemporary
or modern my work looks. Perhaps this surprise is borne out of an
expectation that art created by an African is supposed to look anything
but contemporary or modern. For me, it is like saying that a Fang mask looks like a Picasso or a Fang looks like Modigliani,
or that Japanese wood block prints look like Vincent van Gogh’s
paintings. Shouldn’t the description be the other way around,
considering that the former predate the latter?
It may be that in the West, the
modern art is the prism through which most art styles that engage
abstraction is judged. It is important to note that the artistic culture
in Africa that informed and inspired the Modern movements in Europe
are not extinct. African art forms continue to inspire ideas
for universal artistic creations, be it contemporary design or
contemporary visual art. There are artists who were born into
these cultures who have chosen to continuously explore and be inspired
by the rich content of these art forms without necessarily referencing
Modernism. My composition Medicine Bird is an interpretation of a metal
object among the Yoruba called Opa Osanyin. The animal forms in Night Watch are inspired by terracotta equestrian figurines
from the inland Niger region in Mali. In each of these examples, it is
important to note the highly stylized and relatively simplified forms.
It is this artistic tradition of reducing form to its essence that I
reference in my contemporary work.
While I engage the classical African sculptural
forms, of particular interest to me are the graphic elements inscribed
on those sculptural pieces as well as the linear patterns on murals,
household utensils and body decorations. These graphic drawings inform
my style.
Medicine Bird by Victor Ekpuk
Night Watch by Victor Ekpuk (54" x 45")
I like to experiment with different materials. I
do not believe that drawing should be done the way it’s expected to be
done, with ink or dry media on paper. So I am curious to see
what the possibilities are for drawing on ceramics,
with digital pixels, and so on. Sometimes the idea dictates the
medium; other times, I let the work lead me to which medium best suits
it.
Victor Ekpuk, art demonstration at Amsterdam gallery 2008
Many years ago while exploring the use of
ancient writings systems as a means of contemporary visual
expression, I developed a painting technique in
which I manipulated acrylic paint on canvas to look like
scripts carved in stone. When I came across Islamic
prayer (Koranic) boards in the market in Northern Nigeria, I was
immediately struck not only by the aesthetic beauty of the boards, but
by the form and function of the boards as bearers of ancient sacred
texts and prayers. It suddenly clicked for me what my next series of
work should be. In 1989, I began the manuscript series where the nsibidi
sacred writing system from southeastern Nigeria is painted on boards
that are originally used to teach or write prayers in Arabic scripts. I
wanted to create contemporary sacred objects that conveyed the awe and
mystery which nsibidi signs and the Koranic boards inspire.
A Man, His Wife and Son at the Mirror by Victor Ekpuk
Not being a Muslim, I was initially timid about
executing this idea, especially since I was not going to write Arabic
scripts on them. I was concerned about trespassing the invisible line
between what I see as art and what others might see as religious
provocation. But I eventually took solace in the fact that I was not the
only artist using the boards for contemporary works of art, even though
I am the only non-Muslim I know doing it.
Songs to One Who Sees All by Victor Ekpuk
I understand you did artist-in-residence
programs in Amsterdam and in several other places. What led you to
become a U.S. citizen, and do you have particular aspirations for
helping this part of the world understand and learn more about other
African artists?
I think the more contemporary artists from
Africa have the platform to show their work in this part of the world,
the more their work will be understood. On my part, I often take the
pains to explain my work as I have done here, with the hope
that the appreciation for my work and by extension the works of other
contemporary artists from Africa and non-Western cultures would be
understood from a better-informed perspective.
You be me, I be you by Victor Ekpuk
Africa Now! comtemporary art at World Bank 2008
Do you study other art forms —
architecture, fashion, music, and so forth — to spur your own
creativity? Or do your ideas just come from the little things you
experience in daily life?
I am interested in other forms of
artistic expressions. At the moment, I am consuming as well as
creating other forms of art. I have designed furniture, clothing, and
jewelry. I had worked as a graphic artist, a book and editorial
illustrator, and a cartoonist in a major newspaper in Nigeria. I like
the idea of applying my work to different forms of art like sculpture,
textiles, ceramics and commercial art.
Children of the Full Moon by Victor Ekpuk
I see you’re exploring digital processes and techniques in your art. Where do you see your work going from here?
It was curiosity that led me to the challenge of
exploring the possibility of my work in digital process. I am intrigued
by the technology and I enjoy its plasticity and versatility. The fact
that I enjoy using digital tools does not mean I have abandoned the
former processes of making art. It only means I have added another tool
set to my bag of tricks.
About where my work is going? I am not sure, but I would prefer it to continue to excite me.
detail of Guns Do Not Kill People by Victor Ekpuk
Composition #4 by Victor Ekpuk
Composition #2 by Victor Ekpuk
What are some of your favorite things, whether they directly impact your work or just make you happy?
Some of my favorite things: my family, I like
being a father to my precocious ten year old son, giving to the
needy, taking photographs, listening to good music, exploring the
possibilities of modern technology, and drinking strong tea.
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