An artist born in Australia, raised in Nigeria, and living her adult life between the United States and Nigeria expresses her embedded, enduring concern for the health of the environment, the climate, and the ecosystem through her artwork. Her pieces of art work to engender the subtle undertones of trepidation; these works of art seek to provoke the spectator into inquiring their idiosyncrasies of micro-sociological perspectives and, more broadly, the issues of cultural norms connected to consumption (that is, how our consumption affects the environment we live in as well as the environment others live in), reduction in usage, reuse, and inventive recycling. Nnenna Okore is an environmental contemporary artist who works to instruct and communicate the importance of valuing and respecting nature as well as challenging and therefore provoking a recognition of the problematic conditions which we have caused and continue to live in with the hopes of activating change. In her process of creativity and production, Okore’s work is inspired by the fluctuating organic forms derived from nature, particularly nature’s flora. She focuses on flora because of its symbolic reference to the ephemeral transience of time. Okore’s piece Deeply Rooted (2017) (Fig. 1), conveys a spontaneous response to her materials of cheesecloth, jute strings, dye and wire. Through the accentuation of these natural materials, more importantly, however, Deeply Rooted expresses, most powerfully, the pure essence of nature embodied within Okore’s works of art. Her connection with nature is represented through the structures which epitomize the meandering of intertwining rhizomatic elements. This configuration of root-like forms manifest into a representation of the interconnecting, uncontainable phenomena that is nature. Furthering this interpretative connection, the rhizomatic torsion are interlocked into a circular construction which works to exemplify the life cycle and, simultaneously, the blooming of flora. Both the progression of phases of life as well as the flourish of flora are dynamic junctures which express Okore’s need to communicate the importance of observing birth, development, maturation, death, deterioration, and renewal through regeneration. Okore’s multifaceted metamorphosis of materials is an inventive alchemy which transcends the detached meaning of the elements into an amalgamated unity of seeing the importance of valuing and respecting nature. Created in the same year, Okore’s piece Resonance (2017) (Fig. 2) once again transforms discarded objects into the medium that creates her work of art. Resonance portrays the necessity of eliciting awareness for the problematic living conditions we have caused for ourselves and continue to live in. This visceral, abstract sculpture utilizes three ellipses orbiting each other. The repeating shapes convey to the viewer a representation of the cycle of life. Despite the indication of a blooming stage from the corolla forms in the concentric circles of a whorl surrounding the circular shapes, the piece is in actuality reflecting on the transformative stage of passing into death. The ephemerality of the corolla forms fade in a lightening of value compared to the visually heavier weight of the darkly compacted ellipses. Okore uses these techniques to represent the transformative process of flora dying. The rounded forms are also suggestive of the balance in the cosmic body of the planet. The roundness of the shapes in combination with the darkness suggest that the planet Earth itself is in a stage of termination. Okore uses the fading corolla forms to emphasize, through a slow reveal, that it is not the Earth that is in danger – as it remains visually darker and therefor sturdier than the surface – but the ones who live on the Earth who are in danger of cutting short their longevity. Okore calls attention to the problematic ecologic and climatic circumstances we as humans have caused. In our dependence on the natural resources of our environment, we have abused and exploited the Earth, pushing it into a time of calamity and of catastrophe which will lead us to the evanescence of humanity. The intricacy of these parallels of comparison further reinforce Okore’s message of motivating and activating change. Not only are her sculptures created as visual analogies to promote awareness and provoke change, but her process of creation and naming is also a key aspect of her work. Okore’s intensive process of creating works of art comprise the repetition of methods such as: winding, teasing, sewing, staining and tinting, and fraying the natural elements that become her medium. She applies these tedious methods to burlap and cheesecloth, jute strings, wire, and paper (both recycled and hand-made). In altering the medium she alters the original meaning held by the objects to further transform the meaning of her pieces. Once the piece is completed, and sometimes during the process of creation, Okore titles the artwork. Her titles are poetic metaphors which hold subterranean, multifaceted meanings inspired by the nuance of literature from Nigerian authors by whom she is moved. These poetically metaphoric titles act as the culminating aspect in the transcendence of meaning in Okore’s artwork. Nnenna Okore is profoundly perturbed by the exploitation of the Earth’s natural resources and the affects these actions are having on the Earth. In her fear for the well-being of the environment, the climate, and the ecosystem, Okore pushes her visceral, abstract sculptures to instruct and communicate her concerns with others. In constructing her sculpture with an extreme amount of detail as well as tediously laborious efforts, in making visual comparisons to recognizable elements, and in naming her works of art with poetic metaphors – Nnenna Okore drives the magnitude of valuing and respecting nature and, simultaneously, challenges as well as advocates the need for awareness and recognition of the problematic environmental living circumstances we as humans have brought about in order to activate a change in our behavior in order to sustain the longeval existence of humanity. Okore, Nnenna. “There's a Time for Everything.” Nnenna Okore ( Nigeria ). October Gallery Trust Registered Charity No. 327032, October 2017. http://www.octobergallery.co.uk/artists/okore/index.shtml.
Peek, Philip M. "Environment and Object: Recent African Art." African Arts 45, no. 1 (03, 2012): 83-85. http://search.proquest.com.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/docview/1320385675?accountid=10361. Preece, Robert. "Political by Nature: A Conversation with Nnenna Okore." Sculpture, Jul, 2013, 37-41, http://search.proquest.com.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/docview/1370724767?accountid=10361. Spicer, Emily. “Nnenna Okore: ‘My Work Seeks to Highlight Earth’s Vulnerability and Fragility.’” studio international. Studio International Foundation, December 12, 2017. https://www.studiointernational.com/index.php/nnenna-okore-interview-my-work-seeks-to-highlight-earths-vulnerability. |
About this PageThis page consists of analyses, interpretations, and translations for various artists, artworks, and art movements from my perspective. Explore the Archives for more. AuthorTessa Barretto Archives
September 2020
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