Inspiration

Meet Nnenna Okore: A local artist on a mission

Nnenna Okore poses in front of one of her pieces —and some of the materials used in it — during a Well Community photo shoot.

Nnenna Okore’s Morton Grove home, yard and garage and office in the North Park neighborhood of Chicago are all overflowing with newspapers, old books, sheets of plastic, balls of twine and burlap sacks.

You would be right in your assumption that Nnenna is a pack rat (and she would agree), but there is a definite method — and greater purpose — to her madness. She is a local artist who uses these discarded items to make a statement about their hidden value and America’s wasteful consumer culture. In her artwork, what once was trash is reshaped into three-dimensional wall hangings and sculptures of surprising elegance and beauty.

Nnenna, 35, grew up in Nsukka, a small university town in Nigeria where items like plastic bags, aluminum cans and cardboard boxes are necessarily repurposed to create tools, toys, clothing and housing. Even as a child she recognized the beauty and creativity in the uses of these materials. Today as an adult combing Chicago’s street and alleys for materials, an internationally renowned sculptor and an assistant professor of art at North Park University, she hopes to share her talent and her message about recycling and reuse with the world — and by all accounts, she is succeeding.

Nnenna’s work has appeared in solo exhibitions in more than 40 galleries around the world, including in the Chicago Cultural Center, in New York City, London, Paris, Cancun, Sao Paulo and Copenhagen. She has also been recognized by the Chicago Tribune, BBC, and the New York Times, among dozens of other media outlets around the world, for her unusual and exceptional use of materials, textures and colors in her works.

Well Community’s editorial team caught up with Nnenna at North Park University prior to a January exhibit in New York.

Nnenna, your work is recognized all over the world. Why settle in Chicago?
I love Chicago for its vibrant art culture and its fantastic displays of modern/contemporary architecture and public art. I am also taken with the mere exposure to so many people, the metropolitan landscape, the natural environments and animal habitats within the Chicago areas.
I love the colors, the landscaping. I spend a lot of time looking at cityscapes and the way shrubbery is used in the city, which gives me ideas for the work I make. I am inspired by the trees in this place.

Chicago is also a community for collaboration and it is easy to get people involved in art, as well as in good causes.

Does the city inspire your work?
Yes. Chicago is a place where the need for recycling and to give value to discarded materials and earthly resources is very visible. Coming from a place where items like paper are used in very ingenuous ways, and moving to a place where it is so abundantly available, I felt the need to say something about this wasteful habit and show people how I reuse these items in my own way.

You mentioned your home in Nigeria. How do your roots in Africa impact your artwork?
I spent most of my childhood and teenage years growing up in Nsukka, a small university town in Nigeria, surrounded by rural communities. During those years I became enamored by its beautiful landscapes, the rural architecture and cultural scenery found in the streets and common places. The market place was by far the most intriguing place to be. There's so much to feast the eyes, from the wrapped wares displayed, to the flattering and unflattering attires donned by buyers and sellers, to the innovative recycling approaches adopted by the traders within their stalls. The vibrancy of textures and alluring forms, all embedded within the community never ceased to amaze me. Many of these cultural images, colors, textures and processes from my past continue to influence and reflect in my current works. There's almost no art of mine that doesn't reflect some aspects of my growth and experience at Nsukka.

What can Chicagoans learn from the discarded materials in your work?
People need to learn to value found materials particularly those that depend on depleted earthly resources like paper and plastic. I believe we can minimize wasteful habits by transforming our trash/recyclables to interesting art forms, craft or functional household objects.

You often refer to “found” objects. What does that mean?
Some people think that “found” means something that you stumbled upon or something that was yours, and lost, and found again. But in my work, I think it’s something that has been left out, abandoned and did not have a use for anyone. It is a useful item gone to waste. But if found, it is redeemed and given a place and a new purpose.

You seem to have an interesting system of collecting and storing your materials. Where do you find the items and how do you keep track?
I get materials — especially paper — from anywhere I can. I often walk the street in my community or around the North Park campus and pick up items that I think are interesting. Otherwise I go to the North Park University Library and take every paper that they are going to throw out and I keep them.

I store my art materials in my office, studio and home, because I see their value and I don’t want to waste them and I am running out of places for them to go. I like to gather things, and because I do all my work on my own, I acquire more materials than I am able to handle – so it piles up. If you look around my studio, office and my home, you can see I am a pack rat. My husband is always complaining about it!

Many of your pieces include paper.  Why is that?
In Chicago, the waste of paper seems to not be a big deal, so it has triggered my interest. I want to bring beauty to found paper that will make people stop and think about ways that they can reform and use paper and appreciate it.  It is also a material that I can transform in many ways with many different techniques, and lends itself to other materials that reflect the natural forms and textures on the earth, like sticks, rope, dyes, wax and clay.

Do you have a favorite piece or series of pieces? If so, what is it like and what is the meaning behind it?
I don't have a favorite piece; I like them all. Though I was particularly excited by “Twisted Ambiance” shown at the Chicago Cultural Center last fall. It was intended to draw attention to recycling processes, preservation and conservation of our natural environment.

You are very passionate and seem personally invested in your work. Do you think art and your wellness intersect in any way?
For me, art is visually and mentally stimulating. It allows me to be inventive by transforming ordinary materials or experiences into objects of art, and it keep me fit as I am constantly on the move. For others, I believe art can be a source of joy, interaction, mental stimulation and creativity. These are invariable helpful to one's general well-being.

TOP 5
What are your top 5 places in Chicago to visit?
The Museum of Contemporary Art
The Art Institute of Chicago
Chicago Cultural Center
Millennium Park
Hancock Observatory

Do you have a list of art books you could recommend to women who are interested in it?
Women Artists, by the National Museum of Women in the Arts;
Women Artists: An illustrated History by Nancy Heller;
Balance Art and Nature by John K Grande.

Do you listen to music as you work? If so, what are your top 5 songs to work to?
Fela Kutti
Miriam Makeba
Yanni
Brenda Fassi
Celestine Ukwu

• Login
• Comment