I had natural aptitude and proficiency in creativity -Okoro

In this interview Egbeichi Egwu Okoro of Zinn.Arts Gallery is a Nigerian Lawyer and an award-winning Fine Artist, currently based in the United States speaks to Osun Spring Newspaper

She draws and paints on commission and for exhibitions. On many occasions, she has taught art as a private teacher, and has sensitized persons in art in organized forums as an invited facilitator/special guest.

She has had several informal shows of her works in Nigeria, she has exhibited formally with different groups in America, and her works have been showcased at the Nigerian Embassy in Japan.

She participated in the Women of Color exhibition in 2022 at the United States, where she exhibited her Read my Mind piece, and was presented a certificate of artistic excellence alongside other selected female artists.

Egbeichi has been combining her law studies and career in law with her career in art over the years and continues to manage the conflicts that arise from doing so. As a self-taught fine artist, she always encourages people to pay attention to their talents and never let them lie fallow.

She believes that a person can be so many things and do so many things, if they are able to find a good balance by planning strategically, understanding the mechanics of prioritizing, and developing multitasking skills.

According to her, exploring your abilities and maximizing your potentials gives you a good understanding of the fact that what you are good at may be different from what you love. This understanding serves as a guide to people who are on a journey of talent discovery and development.

What excites your interest in creative art?

It was my artistic adroitness that first excited my interest in creative art. I discovered early that I had natural aptitude and proficiency in creativity, through class works and other creative tasks that I was given. I could draw, paint, act, write stories, mold with clay and papier-mache, fold paper into different shapes, etc., and as I got older, I started to perform more serious creative tasks like knitting and hair weaving, without putting too many efforts into learning how to perform them.

Not only did I realize that I loved to draw and paint more than I loved to perform other creative tasks that I was good at, but I also realized that the pleasure I derived from painting and drawing contributed greatly to my mental well-being. These naturally motivated me to practice more drawing and painting and develop my talent in them.

My interest became more excited when I started receiving compliments and recognitions on my creative arts and getting paid for my works.
These factors continue keep me enthusiastic about creative art.

What message do you pass through your creative works?

Mostly, I pass messages that center on humanity. I do this by thinking up themes and creating arts that foster them, either in a collection or as stand-alone pieces. I choose my themes based on contemporary matters and on-going movements in the society, so they are not confined to a particular circle.

I have created artworks under the themes, futility of life, grateful heart, ije-uwa (which means journey of life in Igbo language), African traditional hairstyles, read my mind, strength of a woman, dreaming my best life, etc.

In 2015 when Nigeria experienced its lowest drop in GDP since 1999, I drew a rumpled naira note to signify a crumbling economy. Today, this drawing is instrumental in discussing the issue of cash scarcity in Nigeria, and ultimately, the subsisting decline in our economic development statistics.

How applicable are your arts to contemporary happenings in Africa?

My arts are focused on different issues associated with humanity, so they are to a large extent, applicable to contemporary happenings in Africa.
One of the themes I have worked on is African Traditional Hairstyles. It is a series made up of four different hairstyles. I chose this theme to contribute positively to the debates associated with African hair.

My aim was to add to the existing awareness created of this type of hair, highlight its beauty, and showcase the different styles that it could be made into, with and without extensions added, to reduce the attention paid to the stigma around its texture, styling, etc. African hair is quite challenging to handle, and this is part of the many reasons why lots of Africans resort to wig wearing.

My arts answer questions that other races have of some of the ways we wear our hair as Africans. Interestingly, they have been showing at the Nigerian embassy in Japan from 2021 till date. I applied the hyper-realistic art technique to make the drawings look incredibly lifelike because of the message I was trying to communicate. They are in fact, often mistaken for real hair.

Are you planning any exhibition event in Nigeria?

I am looking into this for the future, but presently, there is no active plan. I will plan towards hosting periodic exhibition events in Nigeria, through which I will not only showcase my works, but also create opportunities for other artists to showcase their works.

YouTube Channel
She curated a short and interesting documentary of her journey. This can be accessed on her YouTube Channel, ZinnArts Gallery.