ORIE STUDIO

This work came from a place of pressure—sustained, unrelenting pressure on the body, the psyche, and the idea of staying. When a citizen’s livelihood is continually strained, with no clear relief in sight, I ask: what do people do to survive?

Do we hang in there, holding on and hoping?
Do we hang up, choosing disengagement and looking away?

Do we hang out, leaving for spaces that appear more stable or forgiving? Or do we simply hang there—numb, indifferent, suspended?

The Shape of Hanging Skin (2009) uses synthetic leather and fabric offcuts to think through this suspension. The material hangs like skin, like a body that has learned endurance through exposure.

It was made to exist for a while as a curtain on my studio door—dragged, pulled, passed through, repeatedly. Over time, it stopped reacting. It no longer “cared” about what I put it through.

That indifference interests me.

The work is about what happens when prolonged social, political, and economic strain produces emotional exhaustion—when resistance turns into quiet endurance. It reflects my ongoing concern with how everyday materials can carry the weight of lived experience, and how objects absorb violence, neglect, and repetition without protest.

I am interested in institutional spaces that can hold work like this seriously—work that sits with discomfort, asks unresolved questions, and insists on staying with them.
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ARTSTIER ART WEEK 2025 ART DISCOURSE

Tuesday 16th Dec 2023 Time: 1.00pm

Title: Holding the Centre: Art, Belonging, and the Power to Stay

This discussion brings together three leading contemporary artists (Obinna Makata, Amarachi Okafor and Obi Nwaegbe) whose practices are deeply rooted in Nigeria, to explore art as a centripetal force in the face of “Japa”, the growing desire for migration among young Nigerians. Through their lived experiences of building and sustaining creative studios in Abuja and Lagos, the session examines how art can function as a cohesive social energy, drawing people back toward community purpose, and possibility at home.
Rather than framing migration as loss or failure, the conversation will consider how cultural production, local investment, and creative visibility can generate a sense of belonging strong enough to counter narratives of escape. The artists will reflect on how choosing to root their practices in Nigeria through property, mentorship, exhibitions, and international exchanges, creates models of grounded global engagement.

The session positions art not only as expression, but as infrastructure: a force that stabilizes identity, strengthens local imagination, and redefines what it means to thrive without leaving.

Participants will be invited to consider how creative practice can shape new psychological, cultural, and economic reasons to stay, contribute, and build from within.

This session will be held on Zoom and link will be made available to all registered attendees.

Indicate interest to attend by notifying Udie on email: [email protected] or via Whatsapp: 08062403121