Peju Alatise

Peju Alatise (born 1975) is a Nigerian artist, poet, writer, and a fellow at the National Museum of African Art, part of the Smithsonian Institution.[1] Alatise received formal training as an architect at Ladoke Akintola University in Oyo State, Nigeria. She then went on to work for 20 years as a studio artist.[2]

Her work was exhibited at Venice Biennale’s 57th edition, themed Viva Arte Viva (Long Live Art).[3][4] Alatise, along with two other Nigerian artists, Victor Ehikhamenor and Qudus Onikeku,[5] were the first Nigerians to appear at the art exhibition. Her work was a group of life size figures based on the life of a servant girl.[1]

Alatise was recipient of the 2017 FNB Art Prize.[6]

Alatise cites artist David Dale, Bruce Onabrakpeya, Nike Monica Davies, Susanna Wenger, Nigerian and Yoruba culture as influences of her artwork.

Early life

Alatise was born in 1975 in Lagos, Nigeria. She and her seven siblings grew up in a traditional Muslim family.[7]

Alatise first considered art as a career at age fifteen when she viewed an exhibit by Nigerian artist David Dale.[8] When Alatise expressed her plan to become an artist, her father discouraged the idea, feeling that art was a waste of time.[8] He wanted his daughter to choose an occupation that was more economically stable.[2][8] Her mother, however, supported Alatise's artistic pursuits, as a spiritualist had foretold that Alatise would one day be wealthy.[8] Despite his original disapproval, her father was eventually won over to the idea before he died.[8]

Before pursuing art, Alatise studied architecture at a university, valuing the way it taught her to see and think logically.[8] During her college years Alatise began to explore her interests in art by visiting Jakande, a crafts market in Lagos. There, she practiced various media, including painting, sculpting, and jewelry making.[7]

Career

She began her art career with painting, then branched out to being a multimedia artist, using beads, cloth, resin and other materials.[7] She now works in sculpture, using her art to make statements about social issues, while incorporating literature, symbolism and traditional Yoruba mythology into her works.[7]Alatise also used media such as bead making, visual arts consultancy, creative writing, leather accessory designing, and interior designing.[9]

According to Vogue, “Alatise defines her artistic practice as a search for truth and to this end much of her work centres on women in Nigeria and on the political and religious issues at the heart of the country.”[6] Strongly believing that an artist should depict the world she lives in, Alatise strives to visualize social issues of her country and personal experience.[2] Considering the strongly held social views of gender roles in Nigeria, it is not surprising that much of Alatise's artwork focuses on gender inequality and women's rights.[2] Using her art to make statements about social issues, Alatise acts as a creative social activist through art.[2] Alatise's work expands on Afro-feminist views by fracturing the male mold of Modern African culture.[10] Over the years, Alatise's work has put her on a pedestal with many other distinguished Nigerian female artists like Nike Davies Okundaye, Lara Ige-Jacks, and Ndidi Dike.[9]

Although Alatise started her artistic career by exploring three-dimensional illusions on two-dimensional surfaces,[10] she also creates through literature.[7] This combined love of art and literature is reflected in one of her most stunning pieces, "Flying Girls".[1] Exhibited in Venice Biennale, this piece consisted of eight life-size girls with wings, and, according to fashion and entertainment website BellaNaija, is "based on the story of a ten-year old girl who works as a housemaid in Lagos while dreaming of a realm where she is free, who belongs to no one but herself, and can fly."[1] Bella also states that this piece "addresses the injustice of the present, but through a vision of a safer imaginary future, especially for little girls."[1] Additionally, this work addresses the issue of child labor.[7]

Alatise more directly combines her multidisciplinary skills in her 2013 exhibition, titled Wrapture. This piece combined short stories with sculptures, creating a visual narrative.[7]

Art Auctions

Alatise's 2011 work titled "Ascension" was sold at N4.4 million in Nigeria's Art Auction, this made her work the best priced among emerging artists.[11]

Awards

Alatise received the 2017 FNB Art Prize at the launch of the 10th installment of the FNB Joburg Art Fair.[12] This art fair is located in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Other Accomplishments

Her most recent concerns include creating artist residencies in Morocco and Turkey.[4] These are places where artists can live and work on their various art projects while being near other artists with similar interests.[7] In this way, Alatise focuses on supporting up-and-coming artists.[7]

In an interview with Ijeoma Ndukwe, Alatise described her goals in these words: "When I look at the standard in which I want my work to be, I look at what is happening on a global scale. The artists who inspire me are [those] whose works engage in a way that either inform or inspire you, [that] talk to the true essence of the human in you and I want my work to do the same."[7]

Exhibitions
  • Material Witness (2012): Nike Art Gallery, Lagos. Photography by Marc C and Yinka Akingbade[13]
  • WRAPTURE: a Story of Cloth (Sept 12- Nov 16, 2013): Art Twenty-One, Lagos. Photography by Marc C and Yinka Akingbade
  • Casablanca Biennale 2014: Ifitry residency, Essaouira, 2013
  • 1:54 CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN ARTFAIR (2014): Somerset House, London
  • 57th Venice Biennale (2017): August Wilson centre for Arts, 2018
  • Prelude, pretexts and presumptions (2018): Arthouse Comtemporary, Lagos
gollark: Nobody would use it, and I don't mean GNU/Nobody.
gollark: A forum, you mean? No.
gollark: Add what to?
gollark: Soon PotatOS Hypercycle™ will be deployed.
gollark: Muahahahaha, I have MADE THE NEW POTATOUPDATER WORK!

References
  1. "Meet Peju Alatise, Qudus Onikeku & Victor Ehikhamenor – Artists at Nigeria's Debut at the 57th Venice Biennale".
  2. "Peju Alatise: Nigerian artist-painter". Afroculture.net. Retrieved 2018-10-26.
  3. "Nigerian arts make historical appearance in Venice - Vanguard News". 3 April 2017.
  4. "Nigerian visual art set to make history at the Venice Biennale". 16 March 2017.
  5. Kabov, Valerie. "Viva Africa Viva!- Africa at the 57th Venice Biennale". ArtAfrica. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
  6. "Peju Alatise Wins FNB Art Prize 2017". ArtThrob. 2017-08-15. Retrieved 2018-10-26.
  7. Ijeoma Ndukwe (December 31, 2016). "Peju Alatise: The Nigerian artist transcending barriers". Aljazeera News. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
  8. Ndukwe, Ijeoma (31 December 2016). "Peju Alatise: The Nigerian artist transcending barriers". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2018-10-26.
  9. Odoh, George C. (2014). "From the Margin to the Centre: Creative Footprints of Self-Taught Artist in Modern Nigerian Art". Art and Designs Studies. 24: 15–25.
  10. Okediji, Moyo (2015). "Scarves of Rare Porcelain: Peju Alatise's Fabric Architecture". Feminist Studies. 41 (1): 88. doi:10.15767/feministstudies.41.1.88.
  11. Onuzulike, Ozioma (2015). "Art Auctions in Nigeria: A Commentary". Critical Interventions. 9:1: 3–21. doi:10.1080/19301944.2015.1012901.
  12. Artthrob (August 15, 2017). "Peju Alatise Wins FNB Art Prize 2017". Artthrob. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
  13. Alatise, Peju (October 27, 2019). "Exhibitions". Peju Alatise. Retrieved October 27, 2019.

Official website

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.