Ekeoma Debuts With Confident Strokes In ‘The Suspension of Disbelief’
By Chuka Nnabuife
WELL-BLENDED colours, striking semblance of figures, good control of brush strokes and remarkable confidence in exploration of studio techniques are not traits commonly noticed in debut exhibitions. The show tagged, ‘The Suspension of Disbelief’ however, proved all that notion wrong recently.
Staged in May, at Pope John Paul II Major Seminary, Okpuno, Awka, Anambra State, the three-day solo show was the maiden art exhibition of young female artist, Ekeoma I. Ahumaraeze (aka Ekefynart).
The collection of over 50 paintings, majorly oil-on-canvas — a few acrylic-on-canvas as well as one watercolour work — and graphite drawings served by the young lady presented eloquent testaments of her maturity in studio drill as well as her evolvement to the level of suspending any disbelief in herself. The somewhat conscious display of prowess in technical rendition was evident in all the pictures.
Her studio techniques in painting were very mainstream and Afro-modernist with tints and shades of hues coming so real, for example, in her portraiture pieces in such a manner that the viewer can feel individual strands of hairs on skins and heads of human figures. From the piece ‘Expectation’, to ‘As Old as Man’, to ‘Maiden Outing ‘, ‘The Way We Are’, ‘State of Mind I’, ‘State of Mind III’, ‘State of Mind II’, among others showed a rare patience and dexterity in detailed rendering of portraits. Not even the nitty-gritty of a horse’s beauty and posture was spared in her title, ‘My Pony is Back’.
Neither drops of water nor creepy sweat dripping on the faces of her human figures escaped the photographic capture of her very sensitive brushes as evident in such paintings as ‘Purification I’, ‘Purification II’, ‘Unbothered’ and ‘Hope’. Those elements on the portraits which many artists would not pay a lot of attention to are captured in such a way that they come so real that the beholder can feel the flowing liquid running down to the body.
In her acrylic piece, the ‘Ripples’ and the ‘Unity in Diversity’ triptych Ms Ekeoma came across as one who nurse a fancy for expressionistic painting style. She used blues, reds, yellows and white randomly with pallet knives and signed off without outlining any figure.
Whereas the acrylic pieces dropped hints of her nursing avantgarde tendencies, it her sole watercolour title, ‘My Third Disbelief’ that dropped hints of what a freely expressive painter she is when playing with the water-based medium on paper.
Through the styles favoured in the paintings, especially the perfectly-controlled technique in her oil portraiture which she describes as “hyper realism”; the very free spirit evident in her acrylic works; and the partly contained freedom in her watercolour expression, the viewer could reason that the artist deliberately stepped out to showcase three major sides of her technical tendencies in painting. The title of the watercolour, ‘My Third Disbelief’ tended to rub that in though a robust appraisal of the ouvre would establish that the watercolour’s title more serendipitous than a curatorial statement on the entire collection.
However, with the public exhibition, ‘The Suspension of Disbelief’, staged May 10 through May 12, Ms Ekeoma has effectively launched out to be counted. She has also made it clear that she is in art practice to stay and move up to the sky because she has skills that not many of her contemporaries have from prowess in use of colour to ease and comfort in the use of brushes to an observant eye and the rare ability to do the hard drudgery of studio work. Moreso, she is very tough and confident as the expo has shown. Notwithstanding the fact that such pieces as ‘Language of Expression,’ ‘The Pandemic’, ‘Diadem’ and ‘National Assembly’ show some factors in pictorial composition she has to sit down dutifully in studio for the debut is a successful and impactful announcement of her arrival.
Ekeoma’s background as a largely self-taught artist and the story behind her debut makes the show more remarkable. Upon the successful wrap of the events, she explained thusly: “I titled the exhibition, ‘Suspension of Disbelief’ because for the longest (sic) time I have doubted my gifts, my talents, my abilities…
“I have questioned the path that I chose to follow and continue to pursue. I have wondered too many times if it was the right path. I have had my fair share of doubts.
“I have planned this in my mind for years and every time I have put it off.
“Now I can finally say I did it.
“I’m grateful to my support system, my family, my manager, my friends. Without them, I could not have done it.
“I do not expect the doubts to disappear completely, I do not expect to magically have all the answers but I know for certain that I am not alone. I know that if I call, people will answer. If I seek, I will find…”
The artist who holds a masters degree of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka in Business Education with a specialisation in Accounting in a natural artist. She once worked in a broadcasting organisation in Anambra State as an Accounts officer while running her studio practice as a vocation. She had to leave the job about seven years ago to go and fully concentrate on her studio in Awka where, in her words, she “mainly explores and experiments new ideas in the artistic world.” Since then she has been a regular participant in art events such as group art exhibitions, workshops, and contests. Through her participation in the Life in My City Art Festival (LIMCAF) she won The Hitch-Canada Award. She also has a deep interest in photography.
Interestingly and very remarkably, the debut exhibition began with a holy mass presided over by the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Awka, Bishop Paulinus Ezeokafor who also unveiled the show.
