Chibụike Ụzọma

dear audience,

Archive

self portrait

Chibụike Ụzọma (b.1992, Port Harcourt) is a multidisciplinary artist working in painting, photography, drawing, texts, and video. He received his BFA from the University of Benin, and his MFA from Yale School of Art.

Chibụike presently lives and works in New Haven, Connecticut.

dear audience,

i am writing to offer some insights and also share some observations i witnessed concerning the artworks featured on this website as a sample of my practice.

the artworks function as platforms to stimulate and/or sustain thought. in that way, they could help you reimagine the functionalities of objects (art also constituting objects) and reconsider your sources of knowledge. through form, they complicate historical specificity, possessing indefinite meaning and uses. the artworks go on to make legible, the pretentious concepts of universalism, which tend to monopolize and replace subjectivity with a yet to be attained objectivity.

i am not consciously scripting or telling a story (narrative) with the artworks because anything functioning as a repository of memory(ies) already has and tells a story. therefore, the artworks perform innate poetics with the materials and subject(s) they are composed of and reveal (a) meaning/narrative(s) to on-lookers with varied shades of truth.

the artworks were made at different points in time and ideological crossroads. According to various criteria, appearance being the most common, they could be grouped into series. however, they appear sporadically on this website as individual samples or clippings from recent exhibitions. i sometimes perceive the artworks to function like sunsets, which occur whether we are watching the horizon or not. therefore, the art exists independently of our empathy or solidarity.

at the time of writing this note, i am uncertain what this kind of art should be called. it is a constellation of aesthetic idioms. however, to call it “black art” out of convenience, based on knowledge of my ancestry, is quite limiting, and harmful to your (the audience’s) ability to use imagination, intuition, experience, and/or other sensory and sensuous faculties when approaching the artwork.

i hope you enjoy scrolling through the artwork on this website— finding meaning and narrative(s) for your individual and collective selves as you go along. and if nothing else, i hope you at least beheld beautiful images.

there is a saying among elders, “wherever something stands, something else will stand beside it.” one proverb puts forward a truth, another another— there is no absolute. so, be in touch when and if you can. i prefer conversations to grand statements.

best wishes,

chibụike

--

Archive

One Had A Lovely Face, 2020

One Had A Lovely Face, 2020

Quotidian Labor of Conviction, 2020

Quotidian Labor of Conviction, 2020

Untitled, 2012

Untitled, 2012

Sunshine, 2020

Sunshine, 2020

FCKNG BLU, Self Portrait, 2020

FCKNG BLU, Self Portrait, 2020

Black Country, 2021

Black Country, 2021

FCKNG BLU, Self Portrait, 2020

FCKNG BLU, Self Portrait, 2020

Untitled, 2018

Untitled, 2018

Vitamins, 2021

Vitamins, 2021

Onesie, 2020

Onesie, 2020

The Surge Of A Poem, 2020

The Surge Of A Poem, 2020

Flames of Setting Suns, 2020

Flames of Setting Suns, 2020

That Dog, 2019 – 2020

That Dog, 2019 – 2020

The Sea After So Much History, 2020

The Sea After So Much History, 2020

Good For Them, 2021

Good For Them, 2021

FCKNG BLU, Grace Jones, 2020

FCKNG BLU, Grace Jones, 2020

Untitled Photograph, 2020

Untitled Photograph, 2020

Pet, 2020

Pet, 2020

At The Same Time, 2020

At The Same Time, 2020

Flames of Setting Suns, 2020

Flames of Setting Suns, 2020

FCKNG BLU, Self Portrait, 2020

FCKNG BLU, Self Portrait, 2020

Sunshine, 2020

Sunshine, 2020

Laughing on Arrival, 2020

Laughing on Arrival, 2020

FCKNG BLU, Grace Jones, 2020

FCKNG BLU, Grace Jones, 2020

FCKNG BLU, Self Portrait, 2020

FCKNG BLU, Self Portrait, 2020

Melancholic Décor, 2020

Melancholic Décor, 2020

FCKNG BLU, Skull of a Minimalist, 2020

FCKNG BLU, Skull of a Minimalist, 2020

Collective Literatures, 2020

Collective Literatures, 2020

Quotidian Labor of Conviction, 2020

Quotidian Labor of Conviction, 2020

Still Life (after Vase with Five Sunflowers by Van Gogh c.1888), 2019 -2020

Still Life (after Vase with Five Sunflowers by Van Gogh c.1888), 2019 -2020

A Gripping Image, 2019

A Gripping Image, 2019

Three Lines of a Poem (after Song by J. P. Clark c.1966–68), 2019

Three Lines of a Poem (after Song by J. P. Clark c.1966–68), 2019

As Changing As, 2020

As Changing As, 2020

These Solidarities, 2020

These Solidarities, 2020

Delhi Smoke, 2020

Delhi Smoke, 2020

Painting With Balls, 2019

Painting With Balls, 2019

That Dog, 2019 – 2020

That Dog, 2019 – 2020

For Instance, 2019 – 2020

For Instance, 2019 – 2020

Manner At Last, 2020

Manner At Last, 2020

Winter Stalks Memory, 2019 – 2020

Winter Stalks Memory, 2019 – 2020

Tolerated By The Citizen, 2019 - 2020

Tolerated By The Citizen, 2019 - 2020

The Surge Of A Poem, 2020

The Surge Of A Poem, 2020

One Had A Lovely Face, 2020

One Had A Lovely Face, 2020

A Child Of The Only Poem, 2020

A Child Of The Only Poem, 2020

The Draught Of Prose, 2020

The Draught Of Prose, 2020

The Sea After So Much History, 2020

The Sea After So Much History, 2020

The Flamboyance Of A Vacuum, 2020

The Flamboyance Of A Vacuum, 2020

Good For You, 2020

Good For You, 2020

Onesie, 2020

Onesie, 2020

Joy Of The House, 2020

Joy Of The House, 2020

The Surge Of A Poem, 2021

The Surge Of A Poem, 2021

The Surge Of A Poem, 2021

The Surge Of A Poem, 2021

Vitamins, 2021

Vitamins, 2021

The Kiss (after The Gospel According to St. Matthew by Pier Pasolini c.1964), 2021

The Kiss (after The Gospel According to St. Matthew by Pier Pasolini c.1964), 2021

Good For Them, 2021

Good For Them, 2021

Good For Us, 2021

Good For Us, 2021

Joy Of The House, 2021

Joy Of The House, 2021

Joy Of The House, 2021

Joy Of The House, 2021

Black Country, 2021

Black Country, 2021

Untitled, 2012

Untitled, 2012

Untitled, 2015

Untitled, 2015

Untitled, 2015

Untitled, 2015

Untitled, 2013

Untitled, 2013

Untitled, 2014

Untitled, 2014

Untitled, 2016

Untitled, 2016

Untitled, 2018

Untitled, 2018

Untitled Photograph, 2020

Untitled Photograph, 2020

Untitled Photograph, 2020

Untitled Photograph, 2020

i am writing to offer some insights and also share some observations i witnessed concerning the artworks featured on this website as a sample of my practice.

the artworks function as platforms to stimulate and/or sustain thought. in that way, they could help you reimagine the functionalities of objects (art also constituting objects) and reconsider your sources of knowledge. through form, they complicate historical specificity, possessing indefinite meaning and uses. the artworks go on to make legible, the pretentious concepts of universalism, which tend to monopolize and replace subjectivity with a yet to be attained objectivity.

i am not consciously scripting or telling a story (narrative) with the artworks because anything functioning as a repository of memory(ies) already has and tells a story. therefore, the artworks perform innate poetics with the materials and subject(s) they are composed of and reveal (a) meaning/narrative(s) to on-lookers with varied shades of truth.

the artworks were made at different points in time and ideological crossroads. According to various criteria, appearance being the most common, they could be grouped into series. however, they appear sporadically on this website as individual samples or clippings from recent exhibitions. i sometimes perceive the artworks to function like sunsets, which occur whether we are watching the horizon or not. therefore, the art exists independently of our empathy or solidarity.

at the time of writing this note, i am uncertain what this kind of art should be called. it is a constellation of aesthetic idioms. however, to call it “black art” out of convenience, based on knowledge of my ancestry, is quite limiting, and harmful to your (the audience’s) ability to use imagination, intuition, experience, and/or other sensory and sensuous faculties when approaching the artwork.

i hope you enjoy scrolling through the artwork on this website— finding meaning and narrative(s) for your individual and collective selves as you go along. and if nothing else, i hope you at least beheld beautiful images.

there is a saying among elders, “wherever something stands, something else will stand beside it.” one proverb puts forward a truth, another another— there is no absolute. so, be in touch when and if you can. i prefer conversations to grand statements.

best wishes,

chibụike

--

Untitled, 2016

Untitled, 2016

Untitled, 2014

Untitled, 2014

The Flamboyance Of A Vacuum, 2020

The Flamboyance Of A Vacuum, 2020

Joy Of The House, 2020

Joy Of The House, 2020

Joy Of The House, 2021

Joy Of The House, 2021

These Solidarities, 2020

These Solidarities, 2020

Delhi Smoke, 2020

Delhi Smoke, 2020

Painting With Balls, 2019

Painting With Balls, 2019

Untitled, 2015

Untitled, 2015

Winter Stalks Memory, 2019 – 2020

Winter Stalks Memory, 2019 – 2020

Untitled Photograph, 2020

Untitled Photograph, 2020

Still Life (after Vase with Five Sunflowers by Van Gogh c.1888), 2019 -2020

Still Life (after Vase with Five Sunflowers by Van Gogh c.1888), 2019 -2020

A Child Of The Only Poem, 2020

A Child Of The Only Poem, 2020

Collective Literatures, 2020

Collective Literatures, 2020

For Instance, 2019 – 2020

For Instance, 2019 – 2020

Manner At Last, 2020

Manner At Last, 2020

Tolerated By The Citizen, 2019 - 2020

Tolerated By The Citizen, 2019 - 2020

The Surge Of A Poem, 2021

The Surge Of A Poem, 2021

A Gripping Image, 2019

A Gripping Image, 2019

Three Lines of a Poem (after Song by J. P. Clark c.1966–68), 2019

Three Lines of a Poem (after Song by J. P. Clark c.1966–68), 2019

Joy Of The House, 2021

Joy Of The House, 2021

As Changing As, 2020

As Changing As, 2020

Good For Us, 2021

Good For Us, 2021

The Draught Of Prose, 2020

The Draught Of Prose, 2020

At The Same Time, 2020

At The Same Time, 2020

FCKNG BLU, Skull of a Minimalist, 2020

FCKNG BLU, Skull of a Minimalist, 2020

The Surge Of A Poem, 2021

The Surge Of A Poem, 2021

The Kiss (after The Gospel According to St. Matthew by Pier Pasolini c.1964), 2021

The Kiss (after The Gospel According to St. Matthew by Pier Pasolini c.1964), 2021

Untitled, 2015

Untitled, 2015

Good For You, 2020

Good For You, 2020

Untitled, 2013

Untitled, 2013

Pet, 2020

Pet, 2020

Laughing on Arrival, 2020

Laughing on Arrival, 2020

Melancholic Décor, 2020

Melancholic Décor, 2020