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By Christy Anyanwu
Chukwuemeka Anthony Chukwu is an artist par excellence. Born in 1998, he continuously bridges disciplines from his upbringing, critical interests of gaming, technology, culture and architecture.
He primarily paints and makes a selective addition of complementary media like tapes, collages with moments of them applied to 3D elements, and at times does a bit of storytelling of mini experiences.
His work may be charged and spark discussions surrounding race, housing development and how they intersect with his reality.
His visions are complementary to the very intuitive creative processes arrived at.
Talented and extraordinary in his craft, Chukwuemeka moved from Nigeria in 2016 to study architecture at Maryland Institute College of Art and pursued his MFA at the School of Visual Arts, NY.
He has done exhibitions extensively throughout the United States, including his solo show at VillageOneArt: Tactical Potato.
As an established young man, it is no gainsaying that he is one of the most sought after artists abroad.
His work has been widely reported by various media outlets around the globe.
In this interview with Sunday Sun, he went down memory lane, explaining what makes him tick as an artist.
Tell us about yourself and your journey as an artist?
I’d say my journey as an artist has been similar to many others born and raised in West Africa with a conflicted approach around their long-term goals and choices for a career. I would say I’m very energetic, enthusiastic and optimistic. My friends would say my optimism and stubbornness push me further that one might expect in many cases, achieve things the average person might deem too difficult or near impossible. I’m also very experimental and intuitively look out for different ways to do things. This has always shown up in my creative practice.
How long does it take you to complete an artwork and what makes your work unique?
It typically takes me about two weeks to a month to finish a piece after I start it. The average size of my work is about 45×45 inches and I tend to handcraft my own panels and surfaces with signature curves and forms before painting and consider this process a crucial part of the work’s gestation.
How does the environment influence your work?
I’ve always had an interest in architecture and studied it in college to now apply it to my professional career in visual arts. I consider my environment what I’m most intentionally interacting with from time to time and make the conscious effort to interest those interests with my work, be it the drifting exhibition at a race track I did my best to attend or my current living in New York surrounded by frequent gallery shows and amazing museum exhibits to learn and pick from.
You’ve lived in America for some years now, how would you compare Nigerian artworks and that of America?
Most of the successful works in Nigeria make use of immediate resources in some of the most refined forms of practice, be it leftover tyre sculptures or interesting mixes in their paints and sculpting. In my opinion, the work from Nigeria tends to reflect the current social and economic challenges more aggressively and works can usually easily spark dialogue among one another being that the many different works speak almost as the same voices. Work in the US has many diverse people behind it at times from all over the world.
How has architecture influenced your artworks’ blueprints, giving viewers a plethora of shapes to observe?
I have a bachelors in architecture and got it while taking fine arts classes in the Maryland Institute College of Art. As I engaged my interest in architecture, I unintentionally interwove it with my understanding of visual arts. Innately engaging space with my shows with alterations to the space that make a more unique experience between the viewer and the work.
Could you explain your work “Federation,” which is assumed to be your largest artwork of all?
“Federation” was one of my first pieces post-pandemic. I reworked an older piece to make it, applying new flashy materials and mark making to suggest the new themes I found interesting and wanted to amalgamate to my practice, flashy pops of colour, pin-striping and fresh types of mark making to reel in my interest in car and gaming culture with ambiguity
You have held several exhibitions in the USA; when do you intend to do one in Nigeria?
I’ve held a couple of shows in Nigeria, but they were usually pop-ups over the December break with my time there being so limited, as well as my resources.
Why are your works complex with the use of lines and how does the viewer understand your works?
I make the work incorporating and intersecting multiple different themes ambiguously and ultimately enjoy viewers having branching takeaways from the work. Most viewers can pinpoint what is being incorporated, but the real work is how they are intersected and navigated.
