ART Habens Art Review ART Habens Art Review - Special Issue #94 | Page 41

Onyinye Alheri ART Habens of existence that is up to us to replicate . With that heady nonsense out of the way , I ’ d have to admit that I do aspire to shock value for the sake of eliciting a response from viewers , whatever that may be . Let ’ s leave it there .
Hmm , I started to touch on this in the beginning but let ’ s go deeper . The quick answer is no , I do not consider audience reception to be crucial in my decisionmaking process , at least not initially . I always make a piece under the assumption that no one ( or very few people ) will ever actually see it . This is for two reasons : 1 ) Art is a meditative and healing process , not an opportunity to garner attention and 2 ) I care too much about others , and if I were to consider how an audience would receive a piece I would never finish it . I ’ d get too stuck on making sure my point gets across , making sure the piece is not offensive , on and on . Now once the work has been completed and I ’ m asked to showcase it , then the audience regains importance , for the reasons I mentioned before . Whatever they see is a raw production , and the critiques and conversations that follow are free to take whatever form the viewer wants .
I am currently taking a bit of a hiatus on my visual arts practice to focus more in depth on political projects . However , I do have visions for future video projects and am starting to play with sound and thinking of how to best use that medium in an inventive way . I am working on a series of audiovisual meditations and performances , though how and whether or not they will be exhibited is yet to be determined . Aside from that my main projects for this year will include ritual cloths and a tarot deck that make exclusive use of an ancient and secret west african symbology called Nsibidi . The African continent is wealthy in all ways , and I am excited to keep exploring and reclaiming the richness of spiritual , mystical knowledge that is hidden there . In terms of evolution , I would like to learn more techniques so as to build upon my mental toolbox for production . Thank you all for considering my work , and thank you , reader , for your time and thoughts .
An interview by
, curator and curator
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Special Issue