Ifeoma U Anyaeji
b. 1981, Nigeria
A no m'eba, ma na anoho mu eba (I am here, but I am not here - presence, absence), 2016
Found materials, mixed
131x216x84cm
Ifeoma Anyaeji is “interested in the ecological concept of discarded material reused alongside a style of art she calls Plasto-art or Neo-traditionalism. This is an ‘eco-aesthetic’ process of remaking where she employs crafting skills used in traditional Nigerian hair plaiting with basketry and fabric weaving. This is executed in her primary medium – used nonbiodegradable plastic bags and bottles. Using this technique, Ifeoma creates conceptual and organic sculptures and installations that reference domestic spaces, furniture, and the body. In spontaneously engaging the “old”, Anyaeji questions the implications of modernity’s consumptive systems of mass accumulation and waste generation, cultural assimilation and attitudes to value, the expiration date syndrome. Colonial orientations that define beauty, authenticity and newness all come into play through her medium and process of art making.”