High quality images selected from the the US-based Nigerian artist'
sketch books dating from 1963 to the present.
This book is a critical study of the drawings of influential Nigerian
artist and poet Obiora Udechukwu. It argues, quite compellingly, that
the radical fusion of lyrical formalism and socio-political critique in
Udechukwu's drawings is a direct outcome of his lifelong commitment to
the graphic, pictorial and rhetorical properties of line. From drawings
of war and famine he made as a young man in Biafra during the Nigerian
Civil War (1967-1970) to the sophisticated abstract compositions of the
past two decades, Udechukwu has systematically eliminated the boundaries
between image and text, literary and visual poetry, and the results are
drawings of tremendous lyrical power. Featuring more than 500 drawings,
many in color, this beautifully designed book provides an unprecedented
account of drawing as an ideational tool and powerful vehicle for the
expression of an artistic-poetic imagination. Authored by an
award-winning, internationally recognized art historian and critic, this
book is a fitting homage to the originality of Udechukwu's drawings and
illustrious career.
