Harnessing Flowers For Sculptural Possibilities

📄 Project Abstract

Africa has been portrayed by many scholars as a culture with an insignificant representation of flowers; the proof is in the non representation of flowers in the visual art domain. The research examines the 'floral gap' as postulated by Mazrui (2004) and the general assumption that flowers are western not African. Jowit (2010), reports that 'more than one out of four of all flowering species are under threat of extinction'. For this reason, there is a dire need for artists in Nigeria to respond to the environment and issues that pertain to it through artistic research. Five flowers have been selected; hibiscus, lily, zinnia, sunflower and rose; they are explored to create sculptures in relief and round forms to satisfy the canons of representational and abstract art. The approach of this study is studio-experiment, and culminates in a thesis describing the processes, materials and techniques applied in producing a body of work found in the catalogue. This study therefore, provides insi...