Peju Alatise

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Peju Alatise
Born1975 (age 45–46)
Lagos, Nigeria
OccupationMultimedia artist
Awards2017 FNB Art Prize

Peju Alatise (born 1975) is a Nigerian artist, poet, writer, and a fellow at the National Museum of African Art, part of the Smithsonian Institution.[1] Alatise received formal training as an architect at Ladoke Akintola University in Oyo State, Nigeria. She then went on to work for 20 years as a studio artist.[2]

Her work was exhibited at Venice Biennale’s 57th edition, themed Viva Arte Viva (Long Live Art).[3][4] Alatise, along with two other Nigerian artists, Victor Ehikhamenor and Qudus Onikeku,[5] were the first Nigerians to appear at the art exhibition. Her work was a group of life-size figures based on the life of a servant girl.[1]

Alatise was a recipient of the 2017 FNB Art Prize.[6]

Alatise cites artist David Dale, Bruce Onabrakpeya, Nike Monica Davies, Susanna Wenger, Nigerian and Yoruba culture as influences of her artwork.

Early life[]

Alatise was born in 1975 in Lagos, Nigeria. She and her seven siblings grew up in a traditional Muslim family.[7]

Alatise first considered art as a career at age fifteen when she viewed an exhibit by Nigerian artist David Dale.[8] When Alatise expressed her plan to become an artist, her father discouraged the idea, feeling that art was a waste of time.[8] He wanted his daughter to choose an occupation that was more economically stable.[2][8] Her mother, however, supported Alatise's artistic pursuits, as a spiritualist had foretold that Alatise would one day be wealthy.[8] Despite his original disapproval, her father was eventually won over to the idea before he died.[8]

Before pursuing art, Alatise studied architecture at a university, valuing the way it taught her to see and think logically.[8] During her college years Alatise began to explore her interests in art by visiting Jakande, a crafts market in Lagos. There, she practiced various media, including painting, sculpting, and jewelry making.[7]

Career[]

She began her art career with painting, then branched out to be a multimedia artist, using beads, cloth, resin and other materials.[7] She now works in sculpture, using her art to make statements about social issues, while incorporating literature, symbolism and traditional Yoruba mythology into her works.[7] Alatise also used media such as bead making, visual arts consultancy, creative writing, leather accessory designing, and interior designing.[9]

According to Vogue, “Alatise defines her artistic practice as a search for truth and to this end much of her work centres on women in Nigeria and on the political and religious issues at the heart of the country.”[6] Strongly believing that an artist should depict the world she lives in, Alatise strives to visualize social issues of her country and personal experience.[2] Considering the strongly held social views of gender roles in Nigeria, it is not surprising that much of Alatise's artwork focuses on gender inequality and women's rights.[2] Using her art to make statements about social issues, Alatise acts as a creative social activist through art.[2] Alatise's work expands on Afro-feminist views by fracturing the male mould of Modern African culture.[10] Over the years, Alatise's work has put her on a pedestal with many other distinguished Nigerian female artists like Nike Davies Okundaye, Lara Ige-Jacks, and Ndidi Dike.[9]

Although Alatise started her artistic career by exploring three-dimensional illusions on two-dimensional surfaces,[10] she also creates through literature.[7] This combined love of art and literature is reflected in one of her most stunning pieces, "Flying Girls".[1] Exhibited in Venice Biennale, this piece consisted of eight life-size girls with wings, and, according to fashion and entertainment website BellaNaija, is "based on the story of a ten-year-old girl who works as a housemaid in Lagos while dreaming of a realm where she is free, who belongs to no one but herself, and can fly."[1] Bella also states that this piece "addresses the injustice of the present, but through a vision of a safer imaginary future, especially for little girls."[1] Additionally, this work addresses the issue of child labor.[7]

Alatise more directly combines her multidisciplinary skills in her 2013 exhibition, titled Wrapture. This piece combined short stories with sculptures, creating a visual narrative.[7]

Peju has authored two novels her debut novel called Orita meta and is a leading voice for contemporary African artists. She has used her work as a medium and voice to address societal ills and changing the stereotypical narrative and ideology.[11] Peju Alatise is a fellow at the National Museum of African Art, part of the Smithsonian Institution.[12]

Art auctions[]

Alatise's 2011 work titled "Ascension" was sold at N4.4 million in Nigeria's Art Auction, this made her work the best priced among emerging artists.[13]

Awards[]

Alatise received the 2017 FNB Art Prize at the launch of the 10th installment of the FNB Joburg Art Fair.[14] This art fair is located in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Other accomplishments[]

Her most recent concerns include creating artist residencies in Morocco and Turkey.[4] These are places where artists can live and work on their various art projects while being near other artists with similar interests.[7] In this way, Alatise focuses on supporting up-and-coming artists.[7]

In an interview with Ijeoma Ndukwe, Alatise described her goals in these words: "When I look at the standard in which I want my work to be, I look at what is happening on a global scale. The artists who inspire me are [those] whose works engage in a way that either inform or inspire you, [that] talk to the true essence of the human in you and I want my work to do the same."[7]

Peju founded the ANAI Foundation – a non-profit foundation dedicated to the development of visual arts in Nigeria, offering sponsored training programs for artists.

Exhibitions[]

  • She has exhibited her works in various countries including the 2014 Casablanca biennale in Morocco, Cooper gallery for African and African American art Harvard University-2017, Resignification of Black body 2016 in Museo Bardini – Florence. Familiar boundaries - Infinite possibilities exhibition, August Wilson centre, Pittsburgh,  USA.  Curator- Kilolo Luckett, October 2018 to March 2019. EVA Ireland Biennial 2018. Curator- Inti Guerrero.  Manifesta 12, Resignification of Black bodies.  Palermo, Italy, Curator- Awam Ampka (New York University) June 2018. Péju Alatise 'Memoirs of the forgotten' 2019  Sulger Buel Gallery, London. Intricacies: Fragment & Meaning Aicon Gallery, New York 2019
  • Material Witness (2012): Nike Art Gallery, Lagos. Photography by Marc C and Yinka Akingbade[15]
  • WRAPTURE: a Story of Cloth (Sept 12- Nov 16, 2013): Art Twenty-One, Lagos. Photography by Marc C and Yinka Akingbade
  • Casablanca Biennale 2014: Ifitry residency, Essaouira, 2013
  • 1:54 CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN ARTFAIR (2014): Somerset House, London
  • 57th Venice Biennale (2017): August Wilson Centre for Arts, 2018
  • Prelude, pretexts and presumptions (2018): Arthouse Contemporary, Lagos

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e "Meet Peju Alatise, Qudus Onikeku & Victor Ehikhamenor – Artists at Nigeria's Debut at the 57th Venice Biennale".
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e "Peju Alatise: Nigerian artist-painter". Afroculture.net. Retrieved 2018-10-26.
  3. ^ "Nigerian arts make historical appearance in Venice - Vanguard News". 3 April 2017.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b "Nigerian visual art set to make history at the Venice Biennale". 16 March 2017.
  5. ^ Kabov, Valerie. "Viva Africa Viva!- Africa at the 57th Venice Biennale". ArtAfrica. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b "Peju Alatise Wins FNB Art Prize 2017". ArtThrob. 2017-08-15. Retrieved 2018-10-26.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j Ijeoma Ndukwe (December 31, 2016). "Peju Alatise: The Nigerian artist transcending barriers". Aljazeera News. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Ndukwe, Ijeoma (31 December 2016). "Peju Alatise: The Nigerian artist transcending barriers". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2018-10-26.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b Odoh, George C. (2014). "From the Margin to the Centre: Creative Footprints of Self-Taught Artist in Modern Nigerian Art". Art and Designs Studies. 24: 15–25.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b Okediji, Moyo (2015). "Scarves of Rare Porcelain: Peju Alatise's Fabric Architecture". Feminist Studies. 41 (1): 88. doi:10.15767/feministstudies.41.1.88.
  11. ^ https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2016/12/31/peju-alatise-the-nigerian-artist-transcending-barriers
  12. ^ https://www.theafricareport.com/425/peju-alatise-every-time-i-try-to-leave-something-keeps-pulling-me-back
  13. ^ Onuzulike, Ozioma (2015). "Art Auctions in Nigeria: A Commentary". Critical Interventions. 9:1: 3–21. doi:10.1080/19301944.2015.1012901. S2CID 192122572.
  14. ^ Artthrob (August 15, 2017). "Peju Alatise Wins FNB Art Prize 2017". Artthrob. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
  15. ^ Alatise, Peju (October 27, 2019). "Exhibitions". Peju Alatise. Retrieved October 27, 2019.

External links[]

Official website

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