Uche Okeke


Christopher Uchefuna Okeke, known as Uche Okeke, was a modern Nigerian artist.

Life

Background
Christopher Uchefuna Okeke was born on 30 April 1933 in Nimo, Njikoka Local Government Area of Anambra State, Nigeria, to Isaac Okonkwo Okeke and Monica Mgboye Okeke. Between 1940 and 1953, he attended St. Peter Claver’s School, , Metropolitan College, , and Bishop Shanahan College, Orlu, Nigeria, during which time he had already begun to demonstrate an avid interest in drawing and painting. Before being admitted to read Fine Art at Nigerian College of Arts, Science and Technology, now Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Okeke had already exhibited taxidermy work during the Field Society meeting in Jos Museum, participated in the preparation and presentation of Nigerian Drawings and Paintings with Bernard Fagg as curator and had a solo exhibition of drawings and paintings, in Jos and Kaduna with Sir Ahmadu Bello in attendance.
As a young artist in school, Okeke was a founding member of the Zaria Art Society in 1958. The group was a result of political conflict in Nigeria struggling to gain independence. Most of his professors at the Nigerian College were British and taught western style techniques however, The Zaria Society opposed the imposition of European art school ideas on young artists in Africa. In school, Okeke studied the Igbo, Yoruba, and Hausa ethnic groups, looking for a way to express his Nigerian self. Ancient Nigerian symbols are most commonly found on pottery or in body paintings. Igbo designs are called Uli Patterns.
Igbo Culture and Design
Okeke was first exposed to Igbo folktales as a child and later used them as inspiration in his art. In some of his drawings, the artist rendered the heroic mythological figures to bring attention to his Igbo heritage.
The Igbo culture area is east of the Niger River, west of the Cross River, and West of the Great Niger waterway of southeastern Nigeria. Throughout this area there is evidence of an ancient artistic culture. The traditional Igbo art form is called Uli Drawing. According to Okeke, Uli is an attempt to enhance the beauty of the human body. Traditionally, a Uli artist is a female person in Igbo society who paints patterns on the body and sometimes on the walls of sacred places. This process is called Ide Uli or Ise Uli. The motifs and symbols in Uli usually remain consistent however, it is the ordering of the design elements that challenge the ingenuity of traditional Igbo artists.
Many of the design elements in Uli are derived from nature. Striped and spotted beings like pythons and jaguars are examples of the sources the patterns come from. Uli patterns have geometric, plant, and animal motifs. The article contains a catalogue of different symbols and what they translate to. Additionally, the color choices the artist makes have significance. Okeke explains how colors are used and where they come from. The medium in Uli Drawings are extracted from the pods of plants. Uli Oba, Uli Nkilisi, and Uli Ede Eji are names of the plants from which the medium is extracted.
Art in ‘Igboland’ is attributed to the earth goddess Ala. Art springs from mother nature and is seen as a means of fostering the spiritual and physical well being of kindred communities. It represents the life of the people and the bare bones of creativity. Uli also has certain lyrical qualities which have inspired songs in Igbo folklore.
University Administrator and The Asele Institute
He also opened a cultural centre at 30 Ibadan Street, Kafanchan, which later became the Asele Institute, Nimo, where among other cultural activities a part of the Smithsonian Institution-sponsored educational film Nigerian Art - Kindred Spirits was shot in 1996. The institute contains a collection of artifacts, objects, and artwork from friends Okeke acquired during his travels to different parts of Nigeria. It remains one of the most important repositories of documents, artifacts, and mid-20th century African art.
Uche was appointed lecturer and acting head of Fine Arts Department at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, from 1971 to 1985. He transformed their curriculum to have more of a focus on African indigenous art and design which he believed would benefit the development of modern and contemporary African Art. In 1973, he also redesigned the curriculum of the Department of Fine and Applied Arts, Institute of Management and Technology, Enugu, and initiated postgraduate courses in the Department of Fine Arts, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
He was the Director of the Institute of African Studies at the University of Nigeria in Nsukka, a visiting Professor to the Department of Creative Arts, University of Port Harcourt, Honorary Deputy Director-General of International Biographical Centre, Cambridge, among numerous other engagements with many educational and cultural institutions.
That Okeke carried the Uli experiment beyond the walls of Zaria and stood in the forefront of its transformation into a modern idiom in the 1970s, from the studios at Nsukka was original. He is a leading figure in the history of modern African Art.
Okeke died on 5 January 2016 in his native home at Nimo at the age of 82.

Professional career

In 1958 he became the founder and Director of Asele Institute and Documentation Center, Nimo, Nigeria.
1986–2006 Visiting professor and external examiner, University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State,
Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. Obafemi Awolowo University.
Federal Polytechnic, Oko. Imo State University, Owerri, Nigeria.
1970–85 University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria.
Positions held;
Acting Head of Department, Fine and Applied Arts Department
Dean Faculty of Arts
Director, Institute of African Studies.
1981–82 Honorary Fellow, Department of Textile and Clothing Design, and Art History, University of Minnesota, USA.
1968 Refugee Affairs Committee, Aba, Nigeria.
1964–67 Director, Mbari Art Centre, Uwani, Enugu, Nigeria.
1964–66 Artistic Director and Designer, Enugu Musical Society, Enugu, Nigeria.
1961–62 Freelance artist and Director, Cultural Centre, Kafanchan, Nigeria.
1961 Publications Artist, Federal Ministry of Information, Lagos.
1959 Founder/Director, Cultural Centre Kafanchan, Nigeria.
1958-61 Founder/First Secretary/Second President, Art Society, Nigerian College of Arts Science and Technology, Zaria, Nigeria.
1955–57 Clerk, Department of Labour, Jos and Lagos, Nigeria.
1956 Organising Assistant, Exhibition of Nigerian Painting and Drawing, Jos Museum, Jos, Nigeria.
1954–55 Designer, visual aids, St. Peter Claver’s Catholic and College of Mary Immaculate Heart
Practicing Schools, Kafanchan, Nigeria.

Practice

Solo exhibitions