Ndidi Dike, leading female sculptor returns with a major exhibition of her paintings on canvass
By Blessing Ogubli
For those who are conversant with the works of Ndidi Dike, leading female sculptor and activist, her forthcoming exhibition promises to show her different side.
 |
| •Ndidi Dike |
Though the talented artist started off as a painter, Ndidi’s bias for sculpting and mixed media took her away from painting for several years.
However, things are about to change with her next exhibition holding from 26 April to 10 May at the National Museum, Onikan, Lagos.
Entitled Tapestry of Life: New Beginnings, it will feature works in painting on canvass, a medium that has engaged her in the last two years.
Dike explained that the desire to pass her message in a different form forced her to work with canvass as against other forms she has come to be identified with over the years.
The artist, who claimed that there is no figurative side to the works, stated that she
 |
| • Ndidi’s works. Wall-geckos-pathways |
initially found it difficult to paint directly on canvass when the idea came to her in 2004.
“When I had the urge in 2004 to return to painting on canvass, I was scared of working directly on canvass from the start. I first started off by doing some sketches on paper to build my confidence before moving to canvass,” she recalled.
Asked how she gets her ideas, Dike volunteered that it depends on the mood at a particular time.
The painter, who described herself as an abstract painter posits that most of the 40 works to be exhibited were ready before her last exhibition entitled Waka-Into-Bondage held in February.
To put her signature on the paintings, Dike employed special symbols developed by her in the works. However, common denominator in the paintings was white. When asked why she opted for this, she explained that there is something in her sub-conscious that lures her to use the colour.
The 15-day exhibition which will be declared open by Ojo Maduekwe, Foreign Affairs Minister, will see works like Wall Gecko Pathways, Sand Burrows, I Stand Alone, Ocho Nma and Nma Aru to mention but a few on display.
Comment