Research project
Language of the Land
A year spent building a visual language, and a palette, out of the ground itself.
A one-year project researching and developing a nature-based ideographic visual language and a foraged earth pigment palette. The project explored the relationship to nature of my Nigerian foremothers' body and mural arts.
This resulted in four large-scale double-sided paintings using earth pigments from around Scotland, an artist book, a podcast, and the making of mma nwuli tools. The large-scale double-sided paintings have the rough pigment on one side and the fine pigment on the other.
The paintings
Four large-scale double-sided paintings, made season by season. The rough pigment is on one side and the fine pigment on the other.
Scottish pigments collected over the four seasons
I used the Gaelic seasonal festivals as markers — Imbolc, Beltane, Lughnasadh and Samhain — observing natural environments in Glasgow and visiting the East, South, West and North of Scotland. I collected pigments from Glasgow, the Seil Islands and the Black Isle.
Creating uli tools
The mma nwuli is the iron knife an uli artist uses to draw on the body. I worked with blacksmith Agnes Jones to create them.
Language of the Land artist book
A publication produced to accompany the project. It brings together the conversations with knowledge holders, my learnings and thoughts during the project, and the earth palettes.
Read the artist bookPDF, 2.6 MB · opens in a new tabCollaborators
Thank you to all collaborators including Ala (Mother Nature), Derick Ofodirinwa, Dr Tracie Chima Utoh-Ezeajugh, Dr Chuu Krydz Ikwuemesi, Okwoli Moses Elaigwu and Dennis Anyebe Olofu.
The linked names have episodes of the African Women’s Art podcast.