Nigerian Modernism - 1
Nigerian modernism was not a single movement, but a variety of responses to the country's shifting cultural and political identity. Nigeria was established as a British colony in 1914. By this time, prosperous African kingdoms and societies had been profoundly altered by decades of military campaigns and colonial exploitation. Under British rule, artists continued to find innovative ways to express their ideas, histories and imaginations. They embraced and rebelled against the colonial education system. Some created their own art societies and curriculums, while others travelled abroad in search of professional opportunities.
Throughout Nigeria, artists were influencedf by Pan-Africanism and European art forms. They also drew inspiration from local cultures. Artistic and religious traditions from the region's many ethnic groups - including Fulani-Hausa, Igno and Yoruba peopoe - met Christian and Islamic practices.
Throughout Nigeria, artists were influencedf by Pan-Africanism and European art forms. They also drew inspiration from local cultures. Artistic and religious traditions from the region's many ethnic groups - including Fulani-Hausa, Igno and Yoruba peopoe - met Christian and Islamic practices.
In 1960 Nigeria gained independence from Britain. New artistic and literary clubs were founded across the country, providing spaces to explore the intersections of art, poetry and performance. During this time Nigeria experienced an economic boom, but it also faced a devastating civil war. In the aftermath, artists established new visual languages in their search for a new postcolonial identity.
Here, Lasekan portrays a king - Ajaka of Owo - descending from the sky. The work references the myth of Obatala, the Yoruba deity who descended from the heavens to create humanity. Lasekan's work connects oral history with realistic painting techniques to highlight the spiritual power of this Yoruba king.
Ben Enwonwu was the first African modernist to gain international recognition. He created a new visual language for modern Nigerian art, combining his training in Igbo sculpture with his knowledge of masquerade and European artistic traditions.
He was influenced by Negritude, an anti-colonial literary movement that advocated for the importance of Black and African cultural heritage. 'I know that when a country is suppressed by another politically, the native traditions of the art of the suppressed begin to die out... Art, under this situation is doomed'.
Throughout his life, Enwonwu repeatedly returned to imagery of dancers and masks, inspired by the masquerades of his hometown, Onitsha, in Igboland. Masquerade is a central ritual in Ibgo culture in which masks embody ancestral spirits and mediate between the living and the dead.
Enwonwu's work draws on the Black Mother symbolism central to Negritude. The anti-colonial cultural and political movement provided Enwonwu with a powerful ideological foundation for his work. His art became a tool for affirming the richness of Black African culture. Through his work, Enwonwu created affirmative images that celebrated African values and creative heritage. 'Negritude meant everything. It meant the revitalisation of the African creative force, both in art and in all forms of creativity'.
Ben Enwonwu, Seven Wooden Sculptures commissioned by the Daily Mirror in 1960, (ebony)
Each figure holds an open newspaper which could evoke wings, a hymn book or a sacred object. With distinct exopressions, postures and gestures, they are arranged in a constellation that evokes a diversity of perspectives. Enwonwu described the group as a 'sort of chorus... almost a religious group... I tried to represent the wings of the Daily Mirror, flying news all over the world'.
Ben Enwonwu, The Dancer, 1962, (oil on canvas)
Ogolo, a powerful Igbo masquerade figure often associated with mortality and the spiritual transition between the living and the ancestral world.
The use of dark tones and the emotional depth conveyed in nthe sitter's expression suggest that Tutu represents the secret image of a nation coming back into the light after a time of darkness.
Ben Enwonwu, Man and his Gods, 1989, (oil on canvas)
