Obiora Udechukwu

Two Buttocks, Rubbing Together, May Each Not Deprive the Other of Space (Akpa Ohu Naabo, Nkutuko Nkutuko, Onye Akpagbune ibe ya)

2006

Ink, wash, and pencil on twenty-four sheets of paper

Not on view

“In a country like Nigeria, which experienced the cultural estrangement . . . of colonialism, it becomes imperative for the creative artist to launch an intellectual and revolutionary war against the . . . colonial past,” Udechukwu writes. “He has to return to his roots.” This two-panel ink drawing integrates the artist’s close study of uli, an Igbo art form characterized by lines and curves used in murals and body decoration, and nsibidi, the pictographic writing system of Ekpe secret societies of southeastern Nigeria. The work’s title refers to an Igbo proverb that roughly translates to “live and let live,” advocating for peaceful coexistence.

Gallery label from

2022

Medium Ink, wash, and pencil on twenty-four sheets of paper
Dimensions Overall: 75 × 176" (190.5 × 447 cm); 16 sheets, each: 30 × 22" (76.2 × 55.9 cm); 8 sheets, each: 15 × 22" (38.1 × 55.9 cm)
Credit Acquired through the generosity of the Contemporary Arts Council of The Museum of Modern Art, Jack Shear, and Committee on Drawings and Prints Fund
Object number 383.2021.1-24
Department Drawings and Prints

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