Austin Uzor: POSTCARDS FOR STRANGERS: AUSTIN UZOR'S FOREVER SEARCH FOR A HOME

  • Foreword
    I am writing this piece in the last moments of Austin’s show “POSTCARDS FOR STRANGERS” in Paris - a perfect moment for reflection and contemplation. Putting this interview together has been an opportunity to make this special show live beyond its exhibition dates— an attempt to prolong the conversation that the artist has initiated through his works. I have come to realize however, that this conversation would have been naturally continued with or without this article coming to life. Austin’s works are exceptional because of this fact: they have the innate ability to withstand the test of time. The conversations that his works instigate around identity, belonging, displacement and subsequent homelessness (amongst many others) are topics that will forever be relevant and poignant. These are emotions that everyone has journeyed through at some point in life — to be human is to experience these. So to be human is also to feel seen through Austin Uzor’s works. There are parts of all of us in Austin’s paintings.
     
    I leave this interview with a fresh lens with which to view “POSTCARDS FOR STRANGERS”. One that has totally changed my understanding and has multiplied my appreciation for each and every work featured in the exhibition. If you haven’t made your way to the gallery yet to see Austin’s works, make sure to carve out time this week before the show closes! For now, I will leave you with Austin’s words. I hope they remain with you well beyond November 2nd.
    Enjoy.
     
    -Soraya.
  • The interview

    S: “Why is this specific show important to you? Does “POSTCARD FOR STRANGERS” differ from other exhibitions you have had in your career?”

     

    A: “Every single show has its own substance, its own uniqueness and what it contributes to the development of the narrative. ‘POSTCARDS FOR STRANGERS’ is a pivotal one for me because it  summarizes the last 4-5 years with the works I have been making and ideas surrounding my experiences here in the USA as a Nigerian and dealing with the psychological spaces I am trying to create now. It is one that is very very (there). It is loaded with layers with so much time spent on the work and that makes it very personal. The number of paintings put into the show and the amount of time spent on each piece has long-lasting memories of the process. Every single piece has a special connection to me.”

     

    S: “How important is it to address the questions and feelings of identity in your work and in your practice?”

     

    A: “Questions of identity always find their way back into my work. It's not what I set out to do, I know it is very important but it comes into the work and conversation naturally and I just let it be. I never force these conversations.”

     

    S: “What was your process in creating the 21 small format pieces? I know that you spent around 2 years completing them - how did you approach this?”

     

    A: “I started from nowhere, I just wanted to make works on panels and a specific size. I started painting on all of them on the same day, same time. Layers upon layers of abstract fields, after a while it started looking like something recognisable and all I needed to do was hone into it and add life into where life was demanded to be referenced. It was a whole process because it was so time consuming. I had to give up complete creative power and leave the material to guide me into space.”

     

    S: “Could you speak to me about the ‘EMBRACE’ pieces specifically?”

  • A: “Addressing grief, came around the time that I lost my uncle last year so I was working on the pieces all of last year. It was the first time in 26 years I was experiencing grief. It was not done intentionally but it just so happened that I kept going back to the image of my dad and my uncle. They were identical twins, my uncle was a catholic priest and my dad was not. I never really saw my dad and my uncle together, so when my dad passed it was really hard to understand what their relationship was like. I only understood their relationship by hearing stories from their loved ones. This is a very significant series to me.”

     

    S: “Could you speak to me about the quadryptic piece that is featured in the show which is the only one of this nature? Was your intention to tell 4 different stories and tie them together in one?”

  • A: “This piece explores the physicality of memory into the present and mirrors the fragmented nature of memory. It is my exploration and experiment over the years.”

     

    S: “What messages do you want to send to your audiences when they experience the show and interact with your work?”

     

    A: “I want people to be able to feel a connection, that is not personal, does not have to link with me… we all have a lot to deal with as human beings. We are always searching for home and it is hard to call any where home apart from places that we felt very comfortable in mentally, physically and psychologically.”
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