Epilogue
The “sub-stories” in
the Story of Stories owe their origin to a conversation I
had with Dr. Sunday Chuta at Nsukka in late 1991. He had
suggested that I paint “the story of creation” as recorded in
biblical cosmogony.
Inspired by the
idea, I did a few abstract sketches on the theme at my
student-studio at Umunkanka Street, University of Nigeria, in
January 1992, and then misplaced them entirely.
When the excitement
for the creation story reoccupied my mind in 1993, it was
revarnished with a different coloration which gave birth to new
sensibilities. I found myself thinking about man in general and
not just about his origins. It was such a hetrocentric scheme of
thought which gave rise to the present exhibition with the
component frozen questions which haul themselves against the
iron shrouds of the meaning of existence.
I am sure that my
friend, Dr. Chuta, an ardent believer in God, would be
disappointed at the outcome of his suggestion to me, especially
the eclectic thrust of the exhibition in relation to the
controversy of man’s genesis. But he must forgive my liberalism.
Although I believe that a supernatural being, more commonly
known as God, created the present world, I cannot come to grips
with some of the illogicalities committed by the venerable
authors of the book of Genesis. Such illogicalities are not
peculiar to biblical anthropology alone. So if we begin to
search for the wife and in-laws of Cane, then we must also
wonder what has kept more apes from becoming men in recent
times, or why all the many Big Bangs since World War II have not
been positive but all destructive. These various postulations
about the origin of man and his place in the world only confirm
my assertion that it is not given to man to comprehend his own
nature and being. And as Swami Bhaktipada {1987} would put it,
“we are conditioned souls trying to acquire knowledge by the
empiric method of mental speculation.”
The success of
The Story of Stories belongs to Dr. Chuta who provided the
initial spin-off and to Patrick Ugbene, best friend and closest
confidant, who modeled in the early 1990s for some of the
preliminary sketches that gave birth to some of the works in the
present collection. I am equally indebted to Centrum in the US
for awarding me a residency in 2003 during which time some of
the major paintings in this collection were produced. But the
failures of the exhibition belong to me. Perhaps, I have not
dreamt enough. Perhaps, I have been somewhat sentimental in my
approach to certain issues in The Story of Stories.
Sentiments are a poor cousin of emotions and it is on the
wings of emotions that art is transported. This hypothesis
quickly provides some relevance for the many graphic movements
which I have here called The Story of Stories, especially
in those cases where I may seem to have faltered.
The Story of Stories
is an
exhibition which I am most likely to be caught to be discussing
with myself in most of my quiet moments, not necessarily because
it concerns man, but because it touches on some of the most
secret places of my heart. I am almost sure that the workings of
my imagination may never be the same again because I have told
(or dabbled in?) The Story of Stories.
C. Krydz
Ikwuemesi
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