Jelili Atiku

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Jelili Atiku is a multimedia performance artist and sculptor from Lagos, Nigeria. His performance with drawing, photography, installation sculpture, video and live performance have made him one of the most recognized performance artists from Nigeria around the world. [1] [2] [3] His work is said to have a power which "lies in his use of Yoruba symbols and traditions of his local community" [4]

Contents

Biography

Atiku was born on 27 September 1968 in Ejigbo, a town in Lagos State of Nigeria. He got his Bachelor of Arts degree in fine arts from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in 1998 and a Master of Arts in visual arts from the University of Lagos, Nigeria, in 2006. [5]

In 1998, taught fine arts at the Federal Government College, Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom, Nigeria. From 2004 to 2005, he was a graduate assistant lecturer, Department of Visual Arts, University of Lagos. From 2011 to 2013 he was a part‐time lecturer of Arts and Industrial Designs Department, Lagos State Polytechnic, Ikorodu, Lagos. In 2018, he became an assistant professor at the Department of Africana Studies/Rite and Reason, Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. [6]

Career

Atiku's work focuses on human rights and social justice issues, which have oftentimes brought him in conflict with agents of state. [7] [8] [9] After a performance in his hometown of Ejigbo on 18 January, he was arrested and charged to court. [10] The performance, titled Aragamago Must Rid This Land of Terrorism was motivated by a brutal attack on some three women in Ejigbo which he believed was "an abomination" for which the king must perform a public ritual. He was eventually cleared of wrongdoing in the case after pressure was mounted by local and foreign artists and organisations. [11] [12]

In 2012, Atiku collaborated with Helene Aurell (Swedish artist), Nigel Wells (UK/Swedish artist) and PålGunnäs (Norwegian artist) at a performance he titled, “In (ut) Flöde”. He also had collaborations with other artists like Graham Martin at Scarborough, York (United Kingdom); and TOGYG, an artists group run by Bangor Greadigol, based in North Wales.

In 2015, he won the prestigious Prince Claus Award. [13] [14]

In 2017, he was one of the artists representing Nigeria at the Venice Biennale, in Italy. [15]

Notable exhibitions/performances

Aráfẹ́rakù (2013). This exhibition focused on Atiku's meditation on the loss of a father he never met. The word "Aráfẹ́rakù" in Yoruba means "a part of me is missing." The performance took place in an empty space that was covered with wallpaper and a photograph of Atiku's father. "Alone throughout most of the 44 hours representing an hour for each year of his life, the only person that is allowed—albeit briefly—to share in the moment is his mother, creating a trilogy that is almost transcendental." This was followed by a public-facing performance that mimics a Yorùbá burial ceremony "blurring the boundaries between reality and fiction as an attempt is made to attain a state of closure through the public depiction of a universal emotion" [16]

Others

Notable awards/grants

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References

  1. ↑ Aridi, Sara (2020-01-14). "BTS Announces Global Arts Project Featuring Antony Gormley". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2020-04-29.
  2. ↑ "Jelili Atiku: "I use my body to make the audience feel pain"". The Indian Express. 2020-02-28. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
  3. ↑ Tchoupakov, Anya (2015-12-07). "Performers Preserve a Legacy of Violence in Red". Vice. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
  4. ↑ "Jelili Atiku: A body against corruption - Archives". IFEX. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
  5. ↑ "Performative practice is their own heritage". Contemporary And (in German). Retrieved 2020-04-29.
  6. ↑ "Brown Arts Initiative Welcomes Acclaimed Artist Jelili Atiku | Brown Arts Initiative". arts.brown.edu. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
  7. ↑ Egbedi, Hadassah (2016-01-22). "Jailed for arts sake: On the unlawful arrest of Nigerian artist, Jelili Atiku". Ventures Africa. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
  8. ↑ "Drop charges against Jelili Atiku, Art Community insists". Vanguard News. 2016-02-15. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
  9. ↑ "Jelili Atiku: Not just about the arts". Latest Nigeria News, Nigerian Newspapers, Politics. 2016-01-31. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
  10. ↑ Africa, Art South (2016-07-25). "Jelili Atiku: A win for freedom of expression". Art Africa Magazine. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
  11. ↑ Africa, This Is (2017-04-30). "Interview: Talking to performance artist Jelili Atiku". This is africa. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
  12. ↑ "Jelili Atiku: A body against corruption - Archives". IFEX. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
  13. ↑ "Nigerian Performance Artist, Jelili Atiku, Wins Award From The Netherlands". Sahara Reporters. 2016-04-09. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
  14. ↑ "Jelili Atiku and the struggle in Ejigbo". guardian.ng. 22 May 2016. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
  15. ↑ "Performance artist, Atiku makes India Art Fair debut". guardian.ng. 29 January 2020. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
  16. ↑ "Jelili Atiku – Araferaku". Archived from the original on 2020-09-27. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
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