Opening Reception and Artist Talk: Bright Ugochukwu Eke’s Egg, Earth, and Essence

Tuesday, October 1, 2024 at 4:30pm
Smith Reading Room, Olin Library

Free and open to the public

Reception from 4:30pm to 6pm
Talk by Bright Ugochukwu Eke at 5pm
Library Hours

Curated by Assistant Professor of Art History Okechukwu Nwafor

In the exhibition Egg, Earth, and Essence, Bright Ugochukwu Eke employs the egg as a metaphorical device to examine the complexities and paradoxes of human existence. Through various media and forms, Eke invites the viewers to reflect on the fragility and resilience, the limitation and potential, the diversity and unity of life on earth. He theorizes the egg as an entity that shares many things in common with our planet. Its spherical physical structure resembles that of the earth. Its internal metamorphosis, in form and function, subtly references the mysterious transformative processes of earthly life. The egg, like the earth, shields the alchemy of unknowability. The internal composition of the egg, like that of the earth, is a profound reflection of multiple ontological systems. It embodies the mysteries of human life, fertility, and temporality.

Bright says, “Like the earth, the egg is the embryo of the young life. But, every life grows old, dies, and returns to earth. This event is a measure of time. The beginning is a mystery! The end is a mystery!! The egg is a mystery. The earth is a mystery. Life is a mystery. Time is a mystery.”

Another important material Bright explores in this exhibition is wood chips. Drawing a parallel between the tree and the egg as symbols of life and fertility, Bright invokes the tree’s sacred origins and its role in the ecosystem. He argues that the tree has been essential in the survival of humans and animals, providing them with vital resources such as shelter, medicine, food, and fuel. He highlights the great importance of trees in the spiritual and aesthetic transcendence of art and material culture. He explores wood’s intrinsic worth in the global context and how its existence has been endangered by the destructive forces of exploitative capitalism.

Bright Ugochukwu Eke has an MFA in sculpture from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He has shown his works in many important Biennales, including the Venice Biennale and Sharjah Biennial, among others, and his works are in many leading collections around the world. He lives and works in Los Angeles.

This exhibition is presented by Wesleyan’s Department of Art and Art History and Wesleyan University Library with generous support from Bailey College of the Environment and the Virgil and Juwil Topazio Fund. Co-sponsored by African American Studies Program, African Studies, Department of American Studies, College of Letters, Office of the Dean of Arts and Humanities, Office of the Dean of Social Sciences, Fries Center for Global Studies, and Samuel C. Silipo ’85 Distinguished Visitors Fund.

Image: Bright Ugochukwu Eke, Egg, Earth, Essence (detail), 2024