Peju Alatise: The interdisciplinary artist
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If you are an avid art collector or enthusiast in Nigeria, the name Peju Alatise will ring a bell in your ear. It is a household name in contemporary African art. The foremost Nigerian female artist, who holds a degree in Architecture, is a mixed-medium artist, poet and published writer, whose interdisciplinary work has garnered attention on the global art stage.
She is known for her largescale, sculptural works tackling contemporary themes most recurring of which is gender and its associated politics. With her works, Alatise transcends barriers and questions the status quo in her country and Africa at large. Her guts is commendable and obvious with the passion she addresses social, political and gender-related issues as her primary subject matter, through artistic work that also captures the joys and pain of womanhood in modern- life- African traditions.
Alatise, a 2016 fellow at the Smithsonian Institute of African Art, believes that art should tell us more about
ourselves, and also initiate social dialogue that enables us to reflect.
She has participated in several international solo exhibitions and her works are in private and institutional collections around the world.
At 2014 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair, her work was generally adjudged to be the standout piece created in response to the kidnapping of 234 Chibok girls. It featured a series of panels of anonymous Nigerian girls using the Ankara fabric. It was titled, ‘Missing’.
Again, she was among the three Nigerian artists, who helped the country to rewrite her story at the Venice Biennale’s 57th edition in Venice, Italy, which Nigeria participated for the first time since the 122 years history of the International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, also known as the Olympics of the art world.
At the exhibition, Alatise mirrored the future with her installation tagged, ’ Flying Girls. The installation was eight life-sized sculptures of girls with wings and birds in mid-flight.
As well, the Nigerian female artist was announced as the 2017 recipient of the highly coveted FNB Art Prize at the 10th installment of the FNB Joburgartfair.
“The quality of each of the shortlisted candidates’ proposals this year was high. But we were ultimately unanimous in our decision around Alatise’s proposal – it stood out. The innovative, universal social relevance and poignancy in the themes underpinning her work were some of the deciding factors in tipping the scales in her favour. The overall body of her work over the years is varied and compositionally strong, palpably reflecting the intense vibrancy of the African continent. We have no doubt that the integrity of the overall body of her work will propel her career meaningfully”, Pulane Kingston, member, the 2017 judging panel for the coveted FNB Art Prize, said.
Also commending the creative ingenuity of the artist, Bola Asiru, founder, Red Door, the gallery that nominated Alatise for the FBN Art Prize, said, “Peju’s work is filled with strong societal narratives on the realities of life in Africa; her message has been heard in West Africa, at the Smithsonian in the United States and the Venice Biennale in Europe. We feel that it is time for this message to be taken to the rest of Africa and there is no better platform for this than the FNB Joburgartfair.”
However, Alatise always remembers her days of little beginning. Though her architecture allows her to design, sketch and draw, her visit to an exhibition of works by David Dale, a living art legend, when she was 15 years ignited her passion for visual art.
Inspired by the exhibition, she later paid several visits to the studio of the legendary artist in Lagos mainland to learn from the master. As well, she furthered her interest by several visits to a craft market in Lagos where she mingled and learnt from the creative community.
The formal and informal apprenticeships have equipped her with tremendous skills that are evident in her breathtaking works that are sought- after by museums, galleries, corporate and individual collectors across the world today.
Moreover, Giles Peppiatt, director of Contemporary African Art at Bonhams, an art auction house in London, is awaiting Alatise’s works because of their growing demands and values at the auctions.
If she is not in her studio in Lagos, she is partaking in one residence within or outside the country. But Alatise is always around with her works at museums and galleries. Visit to see her.