Tonye Ekine …an easel in time

Tonye Ekine’s work heavily celebrates the importance of the now. It treats the moment as a precious but fleeting gift, one which has shaped his artistry in recent times to serve as memorabilia for today’s world. The London-based Nigerian artist graduated from the Camberwell College of Arts in the United Kingdom and has spent a large part of recent years exhibiting across Venice and London.

Ekine’s art is notable for his use of the Ife bronze mask as a satirical lens, creating bizarre and paradoxical scenes, in a bid to discuss modern social problems, including the struggle with post-colonial cohabitation. A master of Acrylics, and a restless devotee of mixed media approach, Ekine continues to search for time – dwelling in and documenting the present – on every easel he can mount. In this chat with Guardian Arts, he sheds some light into his creative process, his art-in-the-moment renaissance and his vision to continue to create for public impact.

What exactly do you think you’re doing when you’re making art?
Growing up, I was this kid that used to draw on the walls and my parents would complain and eventually repaint them. I’ve always wanted to just tell stories, to be honest. I wasn’t a big reader. I was always reading comics. I was already reading visual stuff. I used to hoard magazines and pictures. I used to hoard anything that had design on it. I think I’ve always been very pictorial so the idea of having a blank cover or screen always interested me. I understand art in terms of documentation, telling stories about things that happen in history. As Nigerians, a lot of our stories were once not being told on a global stage, but today they are and it is lucrative. I have always wanted to paint people that are living today. I was very inspired by renaissance painters. Why are we not painting people like that that we see right now? I want people to connect to it like back in the day. Now, I want to make paintings that first relate to me, but also that people can see themselves within.

Why do you have a multi dimensional approach to your exhibitions?
Right now, everything is experiential. You remember a concert because of its nostalgia. You see your favorite artist, but you experience it with your friends, and then you remember everything that happened. Now, bear in mind, I still believe in the power of when you go to a National Gallery Museum, and you see a painting, and you, as a poet or a writer, get inspired to write a story about a character, or you see yourself in that. But I also understand that we are in a new age where people have a short attention span. Think about what Kanye did to change the experience of concerts. I’m not even talking about his music or his production or his fashion or whatnot, just like showcasing his concert, especially the era of when he released My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, and how that impacted people’s experience about going to a concert. It’s the same way I think that as artists we need to find a way to make that work. So, if anybody’s giving you 5 to 10 minutes of their time, you want your work to speak to them!

How has living abroad shaped your artistry?
Is it better to make art abroad, I think it is. I think that basically, if you’re an artist from Nigeria and you want to be serious, you need to get yourself into the places that are controlling art in the world right now. You’re either in London, New York, Miami, Shanghai, Seoul, Korea, Berlin, France, or Germany. For me, that’s why it was a personal journey for me to go to London, of course, to prove to myself that my work is valid and my work has value, and that I know what I’m doing. I went to art school in Campbell in London, and I’m doing art now full time. So, it’s important that we get ourselves into key cities. So if and whenever an African city becomes a big place for art, whether it’s in Cape Town, South Africa, or Morocco, go to those places. I think that is very important. Secondly, it is helpful to start getting yourself into collections, because it’s an important part of the process of being an artist to be in good collections. I might be naive, but I feel like in Nigeria we’re still just building up our collector base. However, there’s nothing easy. For instance, doing art in London is expensive. Getting access to studios is expensive. But I’m doing what I really wanted to do, and what I have always wanted to do all my life so I’m happy with my decision.

How do you want to be remembered for your art?
I just want my art to help people connect to their emotions. I want them to see themselves in my work, or they see what I’m trying to portray; it becomes a personal thing to them. It’s like, when somebody buys you a card for your birthday, and the words that they wrote down there become something that you hold on to. It now becomes a memorabilia.