The Reader

Due to his giant strides in redefining the artistic philosophy of the country and liberating its ideology and identity from European dominance, Uche Okeke is generally regarded as the father of modern art tradition in Nigeria. The Zaria Art Society, founded in 1958 by Uche Okeke and his co-art students at the then Nigerian College of Art, Science and Technology (NCAST) Zaria campaigned and championed the movement for a national identity for the works of contemporary Nigerian artists through the concept of “Natural Synthesis”. In line with the rhetoric of Pan-Africanism in the 20th century and in a bid to give a new, more nationalistic identity to Nigerian art, members of the art society deeply explored their different local beliefs and cultures and used the techniques learned from their European teachers as a modern tool for expression.

The Reader shows a man seemingly dressed in the popular native Nigerian attire known as Agbada and what looks like Fila, the native Yoruba cap, on his head. A smile is quite noticeable on his face with his focus on the paper in his right hand. At the time one could have guessed him to be either a politician or man from a noble background judging from his outfit and countenance. The reflection of what the man is reading on the paper probably explains the choice of using the page of a newspaper for this drawing. Done in the eve of Nigeria’s independence, the piece shows the mood of the typical educated elite Nigerian at the time, keeping abreast with happenings in the country. The Reader is part of the collection of works created by Uche Okeke in the Asele Period (1958-1966) of his career, during which he deeply explored the uli insignia of his Igbo heritage. The peculiar dots and linearity can be seen on the character’s cap, eye lashes, moustache and tongue while the fingers and edges of the body and face are shaded and appear thicker and more defined. Uche Okeke relishes the concept of abstractionism, which has been at the core of the visual aesthetics of African art for ages. Naturalism, which is more of a European concept/style, has never been its major priority or focus.