Why are artists obsessed with the past?

Are artists really obsessed with the past? I think so. I am guilty. I had a similar conversation with a (senior) colleague he was more keen on the future but I was bent on holding to the past. Could the age bracket be one reason for this? But then one would think that since I was younger I would be more focused on the future and vice versa. Had he seen enough of the past and wanted a new experience from the future. Am I bored of the present and want to look back for something new albeit old?

He did share some interesting stories from the past which were very interesting and I probably had no idea about. 

Do you know where sounds like "gbam" came from? This word has now become slang.
From cinemas! Yes! So I learnt that once upon a time cinema houses in Lagos only showed motion pictures without sound so guess what... There was an interpreter and he wasnt interpreting to English oo he just basically made sounds that imitated the action or mouth movements in the film. So remember there was a lot of Bollywood movies. I can't even imagine the experience! Lol!  Na WA!

My obsession with the past began with Hairvolution and since then I have not turned back. If anyone remembers I realised somewhere during that project why I was given the name I bare which I never knew all my life. So in essence, I lacked knowledge about my own self. Immediately after that project I began the "Going back to my roots" collages. From art history to my family history my knowledge of the past is minimal (many young people of my generation are guilty and even worse for the younger generation) and I knew it was very important for me to learn about my past and while not make work with this knowledge?

Another kind of obsession...

Waiting for Beauty...  This is the title of a new drawing series I am working on.
We all use mirrors and the mirror is an important object that is always present when we speak of beauty.  It is only when we look into a mirror that we can judge ourselves and our beauty. The mirror is an object of obsession!
I am interested in this obsession (along with my obsession with hair) which ties into the present but we must look into the past and understand what the mirror stood for and this may may tell us where our self obsession with beauty began. And let's not forget our present day selfies... Yeah! Yeah?!  

The past and the present always meet! 

An object of exchange during slave trade amongst other items, the mirror is a consistent element in this set of drawings I am making.

So is it wrong to focus on the past? No. The past is important if we don't document it, we will loose it forever. What do we teach our children? Especially in a country where archives barely exist, in the future today's art may become our only link to history.

The drawing below measures 45x45.5cm
Graphite pencil, acrylic on drawing paper.

waiting for beauty...  By Taiye Idahor (c) 

Studio Update

the united nations

Good morning!
Long time no post. I have been busy people.
Image Above: Hey I was in France about a week ago for a focus program but I participated as a curator. In short summary of that trip: Nigeria has a looonnnnnggg way to go with art, collecting and not to talk of our museums. Story for another day, this is a studio update!

In the studio I have been working, yes I have and I am looking forward to showing my new work, and I hope I get an opportunity soon.
However I have been trying to finish up (like that will ever happen) with old works. "Finish" used here refers to works I started already ( paper cut, collages made but lacking drawings or paper cut, collage pieces cut but not glued and so it goes) but I just never came around to finish but they will always be ongoing work whether or or not I finish what's on the table.
The work in progress series are as follows;  Ivie series which started in December of 2014 which has now inspired new work.

Hybrid series... WIP

shut cut WIP

There is the hybrid series which I absolutely love and that started in 2015. And going way back to Hairvolution my first solo exhibition in 2014 there was an installation called "shut cut" which was ongoing even during the exhibition and still so now (many unanswered questions remain, the void remains).
These are just 3 series and they exclude my new pencil drawings which are broken down into 3 parts again.  One on beauty (I have not given it a name yet) and another called the memory project. With the memory project I am trying to remember things, events, people,  places and so on from growing up. I found that I can't remember a lot of things especially during my teenage years and into my early twenties, there's a memory gap and I kinda suspect the reason why (still thinking about that). The third part is actually just one drawing I started early this year. I seem to make one mark every two weeks, it's been very slow.

Now I have a new project idea and I really want to get most these ones mentioned done at least to a certain extent so I can create room mentally for the new one; studio space is not the issue! And what's more exciting is that it's a sculpture project... I'm excited!  But I need money o!  Resin has almost doubled in price now according to my colleague Niyi (he stopped by yesterday).
The prices of everything has gone up o! Hint...

Also this post is made from my new phone...  I closed my eyes 😡 and got myself a new phone so I hope I can be more faithful with blogging.

Yes that has been my phone for a long time, is it my fault? No light nau! (translation: really bad power cuts, in fact the going rate is 1.5 hours every 3 days)  ask anybody in the shangisha / magodo area it's that bad. So I am grateful for the rain and cool weather,  how man for do?! And I'm keeping the phone!

As we love to say in Nigeria... It is well!
Thank you for reading.

Timeline, a group exhibition of sculptures, prints, collages and drawings opens in Johannesburg

The group art exhibition that includes myself, Neo and Usha (photo below) marking the end of our residency at the bag factory opened last last night.

L-R : Taiye Idahor, Neo Matloga and Usha Seejarim (The other exhibiting artists)

Theme: Timeline

Here are more work in progress photos as well as well as images of the final work.

So i didn't get good photos of my other works that are also showing so I'll have to make another post for that.

Enjoy and do leave a comment below...

     
                                                       

Title: The day we are born is the day we begin to die

Medium: steel wool

Strand-ed

Steel wool

 Thanks for stopping by!!

Timeline opens this Wednesday... You're Invited

Dear all,

You're invited to the exhibition Timeline

Opens Wednesday 8th July 2015

At the Bag Factory Studios 10 Mahlathini Street Fordsburg Newtown

Johannesburg.

6pm

Photo Update from my residency in Johannesburg...

Hello,

This is a photo update of my work/ project so far at the bag factory residency.
It's been a great experience experimenting with new materials in this case wire wool and getting myself to draw again.

This must have been from my first few weeks here

This is actually just about 2 weeks ago after several experiments with wire wool as you can see on the table

Creating the structure for the main sculpture from pipes and Styrofoam 

Attaching the wire wool

                              
                         
 So far so good...

Bini Proverb: Ants cannot get into a tree to eat it if there's no hole in it

Now that isn't the final work, I'll be showing that once the show opens but before then I'll share some more work in progress photos.

The final show opens next week Wednesday, more details in next post!
Thanks for stopping by.

When something Dies...

It’s exactly two weeks today I arrived Johannesburg South Africa for an artist residency at the Bag Factory located in Newtown. The recent xenophobic attacks have made everyone edgy but so far all seems good.

this image was take on my first day at the studio

My studio at the Bag Factory is pretty empty, very little happening. I cannot say I am completely settled but I have been around town, trying to find my bearing, gallery hopping for most of it, from Momo to Goodman, to Everead Read, Circa,  Harzard, the Wits gallery and one I can’t pronounce hence can’t spell. My best so far has to be the solo exhibition at Everead Read by artist Deborah Bell, it was an amazing experience and the group exhibition Intersections showing at the UNISA art gallery Pretoria.

The sculpture (with sound) installation at Everead Read Gallery

To do List...

Creating art is about learning to live within or to occupy existing narratives as opposed to trying to create one’s own and I doubt it’s even possible to do so.

My new series “Ivie” will be explored while I am here.  Beads are found within most African cultures, they take different forms and colours as one crosses borders. South Africa is one of those countries with colourful bead work, one style or form is common among zulu brides hence through this similar bead structure with the Bini brides from Nigeria, the discussion and examination of roles of women can therefore cross into this new space I am occupying.

As with residencies I attend, I like to use them as an opportunities to try new techniques and new materials. It is definitely a chance to experiment and I intend to do a lot of that.

So “When something Dies”...

Between Hairvolution and the Ivie series, one consistent element has been voids and absence, so as I think of something dying, I want to contemplate a void or absence, initiate a process of dying that will lead to a void.

Why...

One main feedback I received on Hairvolution was on the temporality of the materials I used (paper, ink jet print although fixed, newsprint) I tried to explain that temporality is a major component in the concept and development of the project (life and memories) hence it spilled into the materials I used. Since then I have been curios about this idea of something dying, allowing a death to occur rather than trying to save it, and how do we deal with this loss when it occurs?? I don’t know...

I have been thinking about initiating a project that starts and ends, not ending instantly but as time passes. My project at the Salzburg academy took a similar route but time wasn’t a factor in its termination as I had the work thrown away so it got a more instant ending. (I was sad about that)

I am interested in the subject of life and the cycle of starting and ending but not only with materials but the intangible, memories...
Memories have a beginning, initiated by an event or object (maybe or sometimes), but where does a memory start and where does it end? when a life is gone? But then it can begin again in and through another life or person. When I think about this, I also think about Ayie, and I taking on my father’s memories. I remember I said something in one of those posts on Ayie about choosing what memories are released but often times many memories go to the grave.

My interest here is in that start and end,  the forms they take as they move from host to host and how they begin another life in a new place or body, time becoming a major factor in this performance of life. Also I am thinking about the materiality of what is left over in the process, if any remains. I want to create a work and watch it die while I observe its life... a performance, thinking think thinking...

Anyway enough said, I haven’t figured it all out, if you are in Johannesburg feel free to holla or stop by at the Bag factory, I am here till July.

Before I forget, I have gotten a few “is this your hair” questions but not like Lagos (I do not exaggerate when I say I get it every day I step out of my house in Lagos). Population is probably one reason but there’s something about Nigerian women and their connection to hair...

Cheers!

I also met friends from  last year Asiko (Dakar)

Kitso and Dana, beautiful people.

“WOMAN” claim your title!

I started the Ivie series last year when I got an opportunity to participate in a very elaborate and important cultural exhibition in the ancient city of Benin city Nigeria, which happens to be where I am from (both my parent are from Benin). So you can understand my excitement to be a part of this exhibition. Coincidentally, my twin sister was having her traditional wedding ceremony on the same day in Benin at our family home, so I couldn't be at the opening of the exhibition.

My Installation in Benin city, Igun street (home of bronze casting) Each measure 28x35.5cm

About Ivie...

I did include a short synopsis on my work which you can find here on its website but I think it is important for me to expand on the project here on my blog. It got me thinking recently and the project still continues to grow in my studio.

A few weeks ago, there was an incident here in Lagos about a kidnapping of 3 children by a nanny that was hired online story here. People went wild on social media about the irresponsibility of the parents but more specifically they blamed the mother, which is the case most times when it comes to children, the woman takes the blame. So I have been thinking, did she deserve the backlash she got from Nigerians at that time?

How does Ivie relate to this...

Ivie means “beads” in the bini language and it is a symbolic and very important ornament both in the palace and among the people of Benin and even with many other cultures across Nigeria. Today one can rarely find real coral beads, because plastics have begun to replace them, but this isn't my point, but rather to show the huge interest in beads especially by brides, as it is a compulsory necessity for almost every traditional wedding bride, whether it is real or fake.

But my story begins from the palace...

Everyone knows the FESTAC 77 mask

                                        

This particular image of the Queen Idia pendant is from the book above by Barbara Plakensteiner (Editor), O.J. Eboreime (Foreword)

This pendant is representative of “Iyoba”, meaning queen mother or the mother of the king. The story goes that Queen Idia the only woman believed to have gone to war in ancient Benin had helped her son Oba Esigie defend his throne and kingdom and as a form of gratitude, he created the second most important and powerful title in the Benin Kingdom the “Iyoba of Benin”. She is the only one after the Oba that has her own palace, and her own attending chiefs. She is basically the second most important person in Benin city. To this day Iyoba Idia is still remembered especially because of the popularity of the pendant above and yes the title still exists today and is still is just as important and as powerful.

Just before this project I had met a woman priest through my mum (we didn’t go for sacrifice oo, she is a family friend to my mum), I was pretty shocked to see her as women don’t usually occupy such positions. She had her house and guards and her own throne and you must kneel to greet her.

Benin is not exactly a city where women are confirmed with such power and voice hence my later interest in the Iyoba title. The history of Benin is visible in its arts and it is quite obvious that women are absent in the sculptures of Benin not until the Iyoba title came about, then we started to see carvings of different queen mothers from different decades or centuries. Although at present the position has been empty and it may remain so even after a new king ascends the throne after the present king; long story! (I can address that another time).

Back to the Kidnapped kids...

Do women really belong at home? Iyoba Idia played this role too well hence her title. Should women work? What is the role of women in the 21^st century?

In this Ivie project, the beads are symbolic of the title of “Woman”, there is an absence or void left within the beads. It is a question, or an interest, a search for who will fill this title or position and how?  

As we are confirmed with this title of “Woman”, what is our role? What are our duties as daughters, mothers, wives, aunties, grandmothers etc.

It’s a curiosity, I don’t know if there’s a right or wrong answer. The 21^st century life is different and it may be unfair to compare Iyoba Idia with a 21^st century woman but a woman is a woman and the genes remain.

My thoughts... Don't judge!

I like to think I’m old school and I am also Christian, so I PERSONALLY feel that (especially) when children are involved, a woman has an obligation and duty as a parent and as a mother to take care of her family and besides it’s in our DNA to care and nurture and raise a child or children. Too many women have abandoned their “Woman” title, seeking other things and other titles. Priorities have become misplaced. As mothers, I think a child should be a priority and it isn't an impossible task to work and raise a child. Our mothers did it, at least mine did. She worked but she was home as well, never grew up with a nanny and my mum had 11 of us. Yes 11!! Oba Esigie's mother too, she was a warrior! 

I have friends who do it and I know others who have made their families their priority and forsaken the white collar job. Are they wrong to do that? No.

Its a choice we must all make as women, but we must be aware of the consequences of our choices and be ready to face them.

As I make these markings with my pen that look like hair, I am imagining how I can fill this title as “Woman” and considering how much of it am I occupying at the moment.
The Ivie series will continue to pose such questions about the 21st century woman in Africa.

These new ones measure 60x84cm