The images of large-scaled collage pieces below are by Nigerian artist Njideka Akunyili. These pieces were part of the Collage Perspectives which was on display at Swarthmore College’s List Gallery, curated by Andrea Packard. The exhibition brought together the work of five contemporary artists whose practices include collage on different scales and in various medias. The theme of the exhibition evolved around documenting, exploring, and questioning aspects of the observable world. The result was each artist views the world culturally, visually, mentally and personally.
Njideka Akunyili’s collages address the tension between her love for Nigeria, her country of birth, and her feelings of appreciation for Western culture. Her work also highlights her experience growing up in Nigeria, living in the States and being married to an America. In a discussion about the exhibition, Akunyili refers her work to Professor Homi Bhabha’s theory of hybridity and the ‘third space,’ in which cultures come together to create a new hybrid social space.
It’s as if I have been waiting for this theory all my life! I have been searching and waiting for the explanation which could just some up what Ghanaian-Australian/African-Australian/Afro-Australian embodies for me.’Third Space’ articulates the cross over of two cultures knowing where they cross but acknowledging the new culture they create! You can read more about Hybridity and the Third Space in DIFFERENT DIASPORAS AND THE HYPE OF HYBRIDITY by Katharyne Mitchell (2007), TELEVISION, GLOBALIZATION AND CULTURAL IDENTITIES by Chris Baker (1999) & BLACK SKINS, BLACK MASKS: HYBRIDITY, DIALOGISM, PERFORMATIVITY by Shirley Anne Tate (2005)
