Video: Artist Interview
Bright Ugochukwu Eke on
Ripples and Storm

Bright Ugochukwu Eke talks about water as a “universal medium” and how it binds all humans together. His interest in this connecting force as well as his love of collaboration led him to create Ripples and Storm 1 and Ripples and Storm 2 at the Tang Museum with the help of Skidmore students.

On his fascination with water, he explains, “Having perceived this interconnectedness and interdependence of humans and nature, and having felt the damage, the separateness, and barriers we have created selfishly and egoistically, I thought it pertinent to find ways through which we could ameliorate or proffer some solutions to some of these… I thought of a common language in nature. That brought me to the language of WATER! Water is a universal medium. It’s common to everybody, no matter who or where you are. Whatever I do with water is what every other person does with it in every part of the world. The most interesting part is that we are bound or connected by [water.]”

Born in 1976 in Mbaise, Nigeria, Bright Ugochukwu Eke holds a BA and MFA from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Eke’s large-scale installations and performances deal with human’s complex, often destructive relationship with the environment, commonly using water as its theme. His work was featured in the solo exhibitions “Environ-Scope” at the Goethe Institute, Lagos, Nigeria (2006) and “Water and Me” at Alice Yard, Trinidad and Tobago (2008). Eke’s work has been included in numerous international exhibitions, including “The Global Africa Project” at the Museum of Arts and Design, New York (2010); “CODE SHARE” at the Contemporary Art Center, Vilnius, Lithuania (2009); “Art, Migration, and Identity” at the International Festival for the Arts, Arnhem, the Netherlands (2008); the 2007 Sharjah Biennale; and 2006 Dak’Art Biennale.