Curator Charles Udeh discusses ‘Tracing Forms: The Art of Making’, an exhibition that reveals how material, gesture, technology and artistic labour shape contemporary Nigerian art.
11 August 2026
What if an artwork’s meaning begins long before it is finished? In this interview, curator Charles Udeh reflects on ‘Tracing Forms: The Art of Making’, exploring the creative decisions embedded in painting, sculpture, ceramics, digital media and mixed-media practice – and inviting audiences to see making itself as an essential part of the artwork.
Image Courtesy of Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art, Pan-Atlantic University.
Suzette Bell-Roberts: ‘Tracing Forms: The Art of Making’ shifts attention from the finished artwork to the act of creation. What prompted you to foreground process over product, and how do you hope this will change the way audiences engage with contemporary Nigerian art?
Charles Udeh: ‘Tracing Forms’, as an exhibition concept, emerged from a personal philosophy that views art as a process that never truly ends but continually changes in state. From the act of thinking and conceiving an intended expression, to the process of making, and finally to the completed artwork, which itself continues its journey through cognitive, visual, and intellectual engagement with viewers, every stage is integral to the life of an artwork. Yet curatorial practice often centres on the finished object, consciously or unconsciously directing audiences toward only the latter stage of art’s existence. Little attention has been given to exhibitions that encourage viewers to reflect not simply on meaning or beauty, but on the creative process itself, which becomes visually embedded and often concealed within the final form. ‘Tracing Form’ therefore became my contribution to raising awareness of this overlooked yet essential stage in the lifecycle of an artwork.
The exhibition is organised around five thematic sections, each centred on a different material language or mode of making. From this structure, how did it emerge, and what conversations or unexpected connections developed between works that might otherwise be viewed separately?
The exhibition space was divided into sections that grouped works according to shared materiality, gesture, and modes of making, three principal ways through which artistic processes may be understood. While a more elaborate categorisation would have been possible, a concise structure was deliberately adopted to ensure clarity. One section explored gestural and conventional pigment-based practices, including oil on board and acrylic on canvas. Another focused on material experimentation, presenting works that employed carving, casting, welding, knotting, tying, binding, and crumpling, featuring artists such as Eva Obodo, Tony Okpei, Abayomi Barber, George Edozie, and Emmanuel Ifoegbuike. Digital and computer-mediated works were brought together under the shared language of pixels. Ceramic practices formed another section, while materiality in picture-making, as distinct from sculptural expression, was represented through artists including Kekere Ekun, Twins Seven-Seven, Nike Okundaye, Babatunde Jide, and Kelani Abbas.
Image Courtesy of Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art, Pan-Atlantic University.
The process is often invisible once an artwork enters the museum. To address this, what curatorial strategies did you use to make artistic labour, experimentation, and decision-making visible without diminishing the mystery or poetry of the finished work?
The relative invisibility of artistic process in the completed artwork is largely a matter of perception. Over centuries, audiences have been conditioned to focus primarily on the finished object. While exhibitions centred on process have existed, they have been largely confined to performance and performing arts. This forms the basis of my argument. The artist’s act of creation is itself an artistic event. Just as audiences can later appreciate recordings of a theatrical or musical performance beyond the original time and space of its presentation, so too can the creative processes of visual artists be appreciated independently of the finished work. The distinction is that visual art traditionally privileges the final object, whereas performance is often valued most during its live enactment. Through intentional section titles that reference processes rather than concepts, supported by interpretive texts, the exhibition sought to shift the viewer’s mindset from asking,” What does the artist mean?” to “How did the artist achieve this?”
The exhibition presents painting, sculpture, ceramics, digital media, and mixed media as interconnected rather than isolated practices. What does this interdisciplinary approach reveal about the current state of contemporary Nigerian art?
The Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art is privileged to have a great collection that captures the wealth of the nation’s artistic heritage and practices through time. One of the most revealing insights gained while curating this exhibition was the remarkable diversity of artistic processes within Nigerian art, from the modern period of Aina Onabolu to the present day. Contemporary Nigerian art, in particular, demonstrates an unprecedented level of experimentation with both materials and methods. This observation reinforced my conviction that artistic process is now as significant as the finished work itself. As artists continue to expand the possibilities of materials, technologies, and techniques, process increasingly becomes a vital site of artistic meaning rather than merely a means to an end.
Image Courtesy of Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art, Pan-Atlantic University.
Many of the works highlight the relationship between traditional techniques and new technologies. In this context, how do you see Nigerian artists negotiating inherited forms of knowledge while embracing new materials and digital tools?
One important bridge between traditional artistic practices and emerging technologies is found in artists who create digitally while retaining the visual language of traditional painting before producing physical prints. Works by Anthony Azekwoh and Lawrence Meju, among others, exemplify this synthesis of conventional artistic principles and contemporary digital tools. Other artists employ technology for precision and scale, particularly in hyperrealist practices. Chima Anagbado, for instance, utilises laser engraving technology to transfer his pre-designed compositions onto recycled wooden boards. These evolving relationships between traditional craftsmanship and technological innovation further underscore the need for exhibitions that foreground artistic process alongside the visual and conceptual intentions of the artist.
Image Courtesy of Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art, Pan-Atlantic University.
As a university museum, the Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art occupies a unique position between scholarship and public engagement. From that position, how does ‘Tracing Forms’ expand the museum’s educational role while remaining accessible to audiences with different levels of familiarity with contemporary art?
Although ‘Tracing Forms’ primarily sought to present the processes of artistic creation, it was equally important that the exhibition engage the university community and neighbouring schools as a learning resource. From the outset, I envisioned the exhibition as particularly beneficial to students (of Engineering, Computer Science, etc.) within the School of Science and Technology at Pan-Atlantic University. Over the years, the Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art’s Object-Based Learning (OBL) programme, which promotes experiential learning through artworks, has become part of the academic life of Pan-Atlantic University and has consistently engaged students from multiple schools and faculties within and outside the university. However, the exhibition’s strong emphasis on process created new opportunities for integrating museum learning into science and technology courses. During the second semester of the 2025–2026 academic year, the exhibition supported more than nineteen OBL sessions with the School of Science and Technology alone, contributing to a total of forty-six sessions across all university units, the highest number recorded by the museum within a single semester.
The exhibition suggests that every artistic gesture is shaped by a series of material and conceptual choices. In light of that, were there particular works that changed your understanding of what artistic process can communicate beyond the finished image or object?
Many of the works in the exhibition embodied the idea that an artwork is more than its finished form. Tony Nsofor’s Grim Polity: Ballot Boxes and Beasts of Power exemplifies this through its gestural execution, characterised by thick layers of paint, visible drips, and aggressive brushstrokes that remain boldly evident on the surface. These traces of making compel viewers to mentally reconstruct the artist’s creative process. The expressive marks communicate not only the physical act of painting but also the emotional intensity behind it. The frustration reflected in the work’s political commentary on Nigeria’s 2019 electoral climate becomes inseparable from the vigorous gestures through which it was created. In this way, the process itself becomes an extension of the artwork’s meaning.
Image Courtesy of Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art, Pan-Atlantic University.
At a moment when global conversations increasingly focus on representation and identity, ‘Tracing Forms’ centres technique, craftsmanship, and making. Why was it important to foreground these often overlooked aspects of artistic practice, and what contribution do you hope the exhibition makes to broader discussions around contemporary African art?
Finished artworks often demand that viewers focus solely on what is visually present before them. If an artist claims to represent cultural identity in a painting executed using traditional Uli drawing tools such as brooms and sticks, the final image alone may not reveal the significance of those choices. Audiences are likely to interpret the work through its visible symbols of identity while overlooking the cultural importance embedded in its method of production. Tracing Form creates an opportunity to pause and consider how the artwork came into being: the artist’s emotional state during its creation, the reasons behind selecting particular tools, the behaviour and resistance of materials, and the challenges encountered throughout the making process. By foregrounding these often-overlooked aspects, the exhibition broadens the viewer’s understanding of what an artwork truly represents.
This exhibition was on view at the Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art, Pan-Atlantic University, from 1 March until September 2026.
