born in 1981 in Nigeria
Ifeoma U. Anyaeji is a Nigerian artist working with discarded non-biodegradable plastic / polyethylene bags and bottles. Using a concept the artist has developed, called Plasto-art, Anyaeji repurposes these bags and bottles with a receding traditional Nigerian hair-plaiting technique, called ‘Threading’ (also know as Ikpa Owu – in Igbo language). The artist visually expresses the narrative of these domestic objects’ possible transition from discarded to the aesthetic or functional – an evolution from redundancy to utility while retaining the hair craft’s technique or object’s physical state. The aesthetic metamorphoses of these discarded plastic bags are usually in form of very instinctive, conceptual and organic sculptures, characterized by lines, circles and loops. Her installations often refer to domestic spaces, furniture or architectural forms, being reiterations of her cultural experiences, and discourses about the human body. Through these installations the artist examines modern and contemporary portrayal of value and value systems most times formed by elements that uphold social abnormalities such as compulsive material excessiveness.
Growing up as an artist, I have always being intrigued by the intricacies of traditional craft processes and the use of non-conventional materials as art mediums. I also envisioned creating forms that communicate with and integrate elements from my environment, using the language of lines to replicate and transcribe societal and political occurrences and my experiences of nature. These visions and interests still abounds, continuously shaping my existence and creative attitude to life. Now identifying as a Neo-traditional artist, my creative practice is about the transitions of African culture, within a globalized society, particularly Nigerian traditional aesthetics and cultural environmental ideologies. Such as material and non-material object reuse and repurposing – an ideology that focuses on formulating new values and extending the significance for objects assumed to have lost their newness.
I.U.A.
Anyaeji holds an MFA degree in sculpture from Washington University in St Louis, US; a B.A in painting from the University of Benin, Nigeria. Her work has been shown in many international institutions including BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, United Kingdom; Fondation Blachère art centre, Apt, France; National Museum, Onikan, Lagos, Nigeria or National Gallery of Zimbabwe, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.
SOLO SHOWS (SELECTION)
2017
Courtyard Project - Swirl Bin, FOFA Gallery, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
2016
A no m'eba… (I am here…, Presence, Absence), Galerie d'Art LSB, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
2015
Owu, Skoto Gallery, Chelsea, New York, USA
2013
Transmogrification, Skoto Gallery, Chelsea, New York, USA
Plasto-yarnings: a conversation with plastic bags and bottles, Alliance Française, Nairobi, Kenya
2012
Reclamation, The Craft Studio Gallery, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
Now I’m born this way will you still see me as…, Lewis Center, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, USA
2011
Okilikili, Lewis Center, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, USA
The Things We Leave Behind, Lewis Center, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, USA
I.U. ANYAEJI - GROUP SHOWS (SELECTION)
2019
Africa Universe, Primo Marella Gallery, Milan
2018
The Black Sphinx II, Primo Marella Gallery, Milan, Italy
The Black Sphinx II, Primae Noctis Art Gallery, Lugano, Switzerland
Plastic Entanglements: Ecology, Aesthetics, Materials, Palmer Museum of Art, Chazen (traveling group exhibition till 2020)
Les Éclaireurs – sculpteurs d’Afrique (collection Fondation Blachère), Palais des Papes, Avignon, France
2017
Skoto Gallery, Chelsea, New York, USA
In Edeniye, a City of the Future, Yermilov Center, Kharkiv, Ukraine
Up: Rise Leve: Levee, Galerie d'Art LSB, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
While no one was looking, Galerie MainLaine, Montreal, Canada
Be Bold for Change, Female Artists Association of Nigeria
Celebration of Black History Month, Bank of Montreal rue St. Jacques, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
2016
Dissonant Integrations, Ethnocultural Art Histories Research and Z-Art space, Montreal, Canada
2015
Gallery Artists, Skoto Gallery, Chelsea, New York, USA
SalonEsque, MAI Gallery, Montreal, Canada
Thresholds: Presence, Absence, and Territory, Gladstone Art gallery, Toronto, Canada
Basket Case II, National Gallery of Zimbabwe, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
2014
La Parole aux Femmes (Women Speak Out), Fondation Blachère, Apt, France
Women in National Development, Female Artists Association of Nigeria and French Embassy in Nigeria, Abuja, Nigeria
The Role of Art in National Development: Society of Nigeria 50th Anniversary, Omenka Gallery, Lagos, Nigeria
Basket Case II, National Gallery of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe