Wilfred Ukpong Explained

Wilfred Ukpong
Nationality:French-Nigerian
Education:Ecole Supérieure d'Art Lorient, France, Fine Arts BA/MFA ; Oxford Brookes University (UK), PhD
Known For:Sculpture, photography, video
Notable Works:Niger-Delta/Future-Cosmos, Blazing Century 1, Future-World-EXV,
Awards:Golden City Gates Excellence Film Award, ITB (Internationale Tourismus Börse), Berlin (2018)

Wilfred Ukpong is a French-Nigerian interdisciplinary artist and researcher whose distinctive socially engaged practice utilizes several interwoven mediums, including photography, film, sculpture, performance, architecture, and creative workshops, to tackle pertinent social issues with community participation and intervention.[1] His work frequently engages with the social consequences of environmental issues in the Niger Delta as a result of its petroleum industry.[2]

Life and work

Wilfred Ukpong was born in southern Nigeria.[3] He now lives and works between Oxford (UK), Clermont-Ferrand (France), and Eket (Nigeria).[4] [5] His work uses aspects of Afrofuturism and mysticism in his work to confront the social consequences of environmental issues in the Niger Delta as a result of its petroleum industry.[2] [6] [7] He Ukpong received his BA/MA in Fine Arts from Ecole Supérieure d'Art Lorient, France, and his PhD from Oxford Brookes University, UK. He is the founder and director of Blazing Century Studios which is based between Nigeria, France and the United States.

Ukpong's largest project to date is Blazing Century-1. He says: "Spanning between 2011 and 2017, Blazing Century-1 is the first installment in a 10-part multi-faceted body of work. Each part is set within a geographical location often embroiled in social and environmental devastation and is developed on several platforms," including sculpture, photography, sound, performance, film, music, workshops, and talks."[8]

Since 2020, Ukpong’s art films and photographic installations have been exhibited at Alliance Française/Mike Adenuga Centre (Nigeria), FotoFest, Houston (USA), Institut Français du Nigeria Abuja (Nigeria), MARKK Museum Hamburg (Germany), Pipe Factory Glasgow (UK), Royal Society of Arts, London (UK), Welt Museum Vienna (Austria) amongst others.

Exhibitions

Selected Solo Exhibitions

Selected Group Exhibitions

Publications with contributions by Ukpong

Filmography

Awards

In 2010, Ukpong's long-term project Blazing Century 1 received a special grant from the Prince Claus Fund Amsterdam. His film Future World (2017) won the Golden City Gates Excellence Award at ITB Berlin in 2018 and was presented at the Nigerian Senate to encourage environmental change in the Niger Delta. In 2024, Ukpong was shortlisted for the inaugural Saltzman Prize from Lisa Saltzman.[24] [25]

Education

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Wilfred Ukpong . 2024-04-10 . www.asharex.com.
  2. Web site: Warner . Marigold . African Cosmologies — Photography, Time, and the Other . 2024-04-09 . British Journal of Photography . en-GB.
  3. News: 2021-10-31 . The Colour of the Climate Crisis – in pictures . 2024-04-09 . The Guardian . en-GB . 0261-3077.
  4. Web site: 2016-05-15 . From diaspora, Ukpong returns with art for social change . 2024-04-09 . . en-US.
  5. Web site: 2020-01-26 . Changing Niger Delta narrative through arts . 2024-04-09 . . en-US.
  6. Web site: Santamaria . Laura . 2024-02-02 . Justice for the Niger Delta . 2024-04-10 . . en-US.
  7. Web site: Juxtapoz Magazine - Wilfred Ukpong's Afrofuturist Reflection on Environmental Exploitation . 2024-04-10 . . en-gb.
  8. Web site: 2018-11-14 . Wilfred Ukpong in Blazing Century . 2024-04-09 . . en-US.
  9. Web site: Wilfred Ukpong: Niger-Delta / Future-Cosmos Exhibition 16 Feb – 1 Jun 2024 . 2024-04-09 . Autograph ABP.
  10. Web site: Burlington Contemporary - Reviews . 2024-04-25 . contemporary.burlington.org.uk . en.
  11. Web site: Kan . Toni . 2022-03-20 . Wilfred Ukpong's Blazing Century 1 exhibition opens at Institut français . 2024-04-09 . . en-US.
  12. Web site: 2022-06-14 . https://www.ava.co.za/journal/2022/6/14/bc28kiuem3ada7kpep3b8c9ww038t6 . 2024-04-11 . Association for Visual Arts . en-ZA.
  13. Web site: Composing A Cause: A Meditative Sonic Visual Experience . 2024-04-11 . Data Thistle . en-GB.
  14. Web site: 2021-03-12 . Essay Film Festival 2021 Prelude 2: Future  - World  - EXV (Wilfred Ukpong, 2019) . 2024-04-11 . Birkbeck, University of London . en.
  15. Web site: Facebook . 2024-04-11 . www.facebook.com.
  16. Web site: 2024-01-08 . Africa Rising: 21st-Century African Photography Fitchburg Art Museum . 2024-04-11 . en-US.
  17. Web site: Wien . Weltmuseum . 2024-03-21 . Weltmuseum Wien: Science Fiction(s) If There Were a Tomorrow . 2024-04-11 . www.weltmuseumwien.at . en.
  18. Web site: MARKK . Water Messages – MARKK . 2024-04-11 . en.
  19. News: Gilbert . Sarah . 2020-03-27 . Artists of Africa and the diaspora – in pictures . 2024-04-09 . The Guardian . en-GB . 0261-3077.
  20. Web site: Hibbard . Andrew . 2020-03-20 . 'African Cosmologies' Deftly Navigates the Challenges of Photographing the Diaspora . 2024-04-09 . Frieze . en.
  21. Web site: arthousefoundation . 2019-03-29 . EXHIBITION Diana Ejaita and Wilfred Ukpong March 30-April 5, 2019 . 2024-04-11 . arthouse-foundation . en.
  22. Web site: 2018-05-30 . Film highlights challenges of Niger Delta . 2024-04-09 . . en-US.
  23. Web site: Wilfred Ukpong – FUTURE – WORLD – EXV Science Fiction(s) . 2024-04-09 . Weltmuseum Wien.
  24. Web site: 2024-02-23 . The Saltzman Family Foundation and the Center for Photography at Woodstock (CPW) announce the 10 nominees fot the Saltzman Prize . 2024-04-10 . Vogue . en-US.
  25. Web site: Shurvell . Joanne . See The Winner Of Best Emerging International Photographer 2024 . 2024-04-10 . Forbes . en.
  26. Web site: Wilfred Ukpong - Blazing Century, Nigeria LinkedIn . 2024-04-10 . ng.linkedin.com . en.

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