After having traversed the cape and coast, recycling and installation artist, Victoria Udondian, is set to assert her creative identity. The 31-year-old, who studied at the University of Uyo and graduated with a BA in Painting in 2004, had worked for an ad agency and is a member of various art groups and collectives.
She says, "I have found my identity. It is to the glory of God that my search for an identity has taken me to several countries across the world within a period of three years. And back home in Nigeria, my work has been shown in quite a number of group exhibitions as well as featured consistently at art auctions."
"Nigerian art landscape is expanding by the day. It is therefore important not to wink in the dark, hence the need for me to formally bring my identity, through Victoria Udondian Studio, to art connoisseurs, collectors, the visual arts' family and the general public in Lagos."
Tagged Open Studio', the event holding on April 13 will afford members of the public an opportunity to interact with the artist, a contemporary artist, currently working in textile contents.
Her work revolves around the theme of cultural contamination and the continuous interaction between contemporary traditions, which is especially visible in the weaving of textiles. She works with used fabrics, paper, plastic bags, and other recycled materials which are cut, sewn, woven, tied, glued and repurposed to create sculptures and installations which reference textile and clothing histories in Nigeria.
"I also use and create garments, referencing the use of costume in Nigerian ceremonies and performances. Parts of my contents include using contemporary mass-produced clothing, which has different connotations of consumption and globalization across diverse ages and geographical areas. In my work, the garments used and the weaving as well as the sewing methods employed are imbued with strong ethical and social values; they become the means to investigate the context, the environment, the history of cultures, present realities and traditional activities."
Some of her recent shows include Pechakucha Lagos, at Goethe Institut, Lagos 2013; We Face Forward, Arts From West Africa Today, at the Whitworth Arts gallery, University of Manchester, 2012; SAS at the Bag factory Studios in Johannesburg, South Africa, 2012; A Kilo Of Hope at the Yusuf Grillo Gallery, Yaba College of Technology in Lagos.
Her Artist Residencies include the Residency at Islinton Mill, Salford, Manchester, U.K, 2012; Art Enclosures for the Fondazione di Venezie, Italy 2011; and the Triangle Arts Trust Artist Residency, Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA), Lagos, Nigeria, 2010.
