Meaning in the Making

Nigerian artist Gerald Chukwuma (JER-uhld chew-KOOM-a) experiments with sculpture, painting, and printmaking. His 2021 Roped, above, incorporates wood, acrylic paint, and upcycled metal.

To make Roped, Chukwuma uses a block printing technique. He prints a pattern using engraved wood or metal blocks. The symbols he uses to create these patterns are based on traditional symbols that are rooted in local Nigerian history. The intricate patterns, vibrant colors, and curving shapes work together to form a stylized figure.

By including these symbols, Chukwuma links the past and present. He believes each block print is “a reflection of itself.” What reflection do you think the print represents here?

Nigerian artist Gerald Chukwuma (JER-uhld chew-KOOM-a) experiments with printmaking. He made his 2021 Roped, above, using wood, paint, and upcycled metal.

To make Roped, Chukwuma uses block printing. He carves into wood or metal blocks. He includes symbols based on traditional Nigerian patterns. The symbols, colors, and shapes form a figure.

Chukwuma uses symbols to link the past and present. He believes each block print is “a reflection of itself.”

Does the artwork above by Ibrahim Mahama (ib-ruh-HEEM mah-HAHM-ah) look like a quilt? A painting? A sculpture? To make works like Everything Scatter, 2013-22, Mahama wraps wax print cloth around wood panels. Then he uses jute, a type of thread, to add embroidered details.

The Ghanian artist uses materials to explore migration, globalization, and economic exchange. The wax print cloth he uses in Everything Scatter is frequently associated with African culture. But it has a long history that connects it with Asia, Europe, and Africa through trade.

Compare this example with the sculpture by Yinka Shonibare in On the World Stage, which includes similar textiles. What does each artist say through his use of fabric?

Look at Everything Scatter, shown above, by Ibrahim Mahama (ib-ruh-HEEM mah-HAHM-ah). Does it look like a quilt? A painting? A sculpture? To create it, the Ghanian artist wraps wax print cloth around wood panels. He uses jute, a type of thread, to sew on details.

Mahama uses materials to explore what connects cultures. The wax print cloth is often linked to Africa. It has a long history that also connects it with Asia and Europe.

Compare this work with Yinka Shonibare’s sculpture in On the World Stage. How does each artist use fabric?

The Côte d’Ivoire artist Jems Robert Koko Bi (jehms koh-koh bee) uses wood from fallen trees to make his sculptures. He wanders through the forest around his studio looking for logs to transform into art. “The trees give me instructions, and I carry them out in the wood,” he says. “They advise me, and I tell their stories.’’

The artist then saws, carves, and burns the wood, using knives, saws, chain saws, and fire. Through this reductive process, he reveals the shape of the sculpture.

Koko Bi’s work Mandela, 2700 Pieces of Life’s History, above, is a tribute to Nelson Mandela, the first president of South Africa and an anti-apartheid activist. Composed of geometric blocks of burned spruce wood, it represents Mandela’s fight for freedom. “Wood is like a book; you must read the story that’s inside of it,” Koko Bi says. What story do you see in this work? Do you think about the subject or the trees from a West African forest used to make it?

The artist Jems Robert Koko Bi (jehms koh-koh bee) is from Côte d’Ivoire. He uses wood from fallen trees to make his sculptures. He wanders through the forest, looking for logs he can transform into art. “I tell their stories,” says Koko Bi. The artist carves and burns the wood to create the sculpture’s shape.

Koko Bi’s Mandela, 2700 Pieces of Life’s History, above, is a tribute to Nelson Mandela. Mandela was the first president of South Africa and a world-famous human rights activist. Koko Bi’s sculpture honors the leader’s fight for freedom.

“Wood is like a book; you must read the story that’s inside of it,” Koko Bi says. What story do you see in this work?