Photography by Ben Douglas
Nkem Okwechime
17th November - 10th December 2023
OKOLO
Exhibition
25/26 Mid Wynd
Workshop
Nkem Okwechime’s body of work looks into his own identity, expressed through printmaking — specialising in screen printing, photography and lithography.
At the age of 12 he moved from South London, one of the blackest and most diversely populated areas in the UK to Broughty Ferry, Dundee where he lived until 2017. It was a difficult transition living in a predominately upper class white area with a very different culture. The internal and external conflict that Okwechime felt during this time subliminally began to inform some considerations for the differences and contradictions he felt ethnically and culturally, which led to a further deepening of interest and alignment with his Nigerian Igbo heritage and connection with his life and family back in London.
It was this experience that introduced a process of collaging African and UK culture, producing work that featured characters donning African masks, the vast majority of which would become research materials for ‘Okolo’, the alter ego character featured in this vision of work.
Agiabor na ezinaunōya (Agiabor and her family)
‘Shrine dedicated towards my family on my father’s side who come from a small village called Ezi. Photo of family at a happy time in their history, sadly now mostly gone. Nostalgia for lost times and traditions which I am trying to keep alive. Lithograph print of a 1960’s photograph taken in a photography studio in Kano, Nigeria.
I was drawn to this photo for many reasons. Mainly as this is the only visual representation of my father’s childhood (seen on the floor with his siblings and cousins) and additionally as the only photo I have of my grandmother, (holding the baby). Aesthetically there is a richness to the fabric adorned by these family members with a range of proud postures and a strong core matriarchal presence of black women presented.
My great-grandmother “Agiabor” (centred) was a well-known and respected bush doctor who treated people for decades while known for smoking her famous tobacco pipe until an impressive 116 years old.’
