Artist of the Week – Michael Enejison

POSTED IN Art, Art history, Culture, Drawn art, Painting
By Adefoyeke Ajao
Michael Enejison’s art features abstract, mixed media paintings that delineate humankind’s complicated relationships with respect to a variety of ecosystems. The 2015 National Art Competition finalist is also a photographer and an environmental sustainability advocate whose works have been shown at the 2017 Lagos Biennale, the African Culture and Design Festival 2017, as well as “If Tomorrow Is Today”, a science-art exhibition to commemorate the World Environment Day in 2016.

 

 

A graduate of Geology from the Federal University of Technology, Minna, Enejison is far from abandoning his background in environmental sciences for the arts. His mixed media paintings “Anthropotectonics” and “Neotectonics” are particularly inspired by the environmental degradation experienced in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region, where he once lived and worked. These abstract paintings depict man’s culpability regarding environmental pollution as well as the dire consequences for the flora and fauna in the region.

 

 

Enejison’s artistic interests transcend the physical environment. His ‘Beauty for Ashes’ series is a thoughtful and interesting take on the existential realities that confront humankind. Each work in the series is a collage of texts culled from religious magazines and bible passages, as well as frenzied acrylic strokes. The texts are more subliminal elements compared to the acrylic strokes, but they act as pivots for the stories the artist intends to tell about the interaction between good and bad experiences.

 

 

Enejison is not afraid to tackle subjects outside environmental activism and spirituality: “Emerging Markets”, which is also a collage of magazine strips and paint, is a commentary on the ripple effects of fallow economic opportunities in developing countries; and “Convergence” uses distinct lines and blocks set against a colourful background to depict the synergy that would occur if the country’s various ethnicities shelved their differences and united for a common cause.

 

 

Michael Enejison’s art embodies his activism. His skilful use of light and colour – even when he is telling gory tales of pollution, conflict or socio-economic disaster – gives dystopia a radical makeover.
To see more of Michael Enejison’s work, visit his Art635 page or his Instagram profile @michael_enejison
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