Ukandi Atsu’s Dynamic and Ever-Evolving Approach to Art

The most interesting thing to observe is every artist’s unique way of approaching their work, especially when they see it as a fluid, unique expression that unfolds as they grow and change. Expression is at its truest form when it’s not about fitting into a particular narrative, niche or a boring box.

Artists like Ukandi Atsu show us different parts of himself as he reminds us that art is not just the physical manifestation of different materials, it is also the mind that creates these works in a way that takes us on a journey, this is an endeavor not every artist can practice with such grace.

Ukandi Atsu is pushing boundaries of his self discovery every day and in the process, expanding the world he is creating.

Can you Introduce Yourself and tell me how You Got into Art?

My name is Ukandi Atsu, I’m from Cross River state I grew up in Calabar, Lagos and Abuja, though I mostly grew up in Calabar. I’ve always been into art because most of the things I’m doing now are things I started doing when I was much younger. I grew up around a lot of kids my age, with open spaces where we could play and explore, so I think my creative tendencies were nurtured early on. In secondary school, art became more passive for me, even though I still took the subject. I really got back into creativity through photography during my NYSC in Port Harcourt.

A friend had just bought a camera, and after taking one picture with it, I immediately knew I needed one for myself. I got a camera soon after and started photographing everything, food, events, everyday moments.

I returned to Calabar to open a photography studio with my best friend. During that period, I started doing more personal work and experimenting with fine art photography, especially studio lighting and staged compositions. Over time, I wanted the photographs to become more than just images, so I began incorporating fine art references from works I admired. I’ve always been deeply curious about art, and because I studied political science in university, political ideas naturally found their way into my work a well.

From there, the practice kept evolving. I explored photography further, moved into motion pictures, and eventually started painting, which led me into mixed media work. That’s really been the trajectory of my creative practice.

How would You Describe the themes in Your Artworks?

I would say the themes are largely sociocultural. It's not just one theme, because the work is a process. Depending on how long I decide to work on it, it takes about a week to a year. So there are a lot of thoughts that go into the piece, because I'm always in a different state of mind. I have these new ideas, intrusive thoughts and questions.

But my themes are mostly sociocultural. Everything is pretty much identity, but I’d say my themes are identity-based, majorly focusing on an identity crisis. I realised this much later, but my work was naturally combining local and foreign elements because of the different things I was exposed to growing up. I was exposed to foreign materials and ideas, while still being surrounded by local customs and traditions. Because of that, my work became a blend of both worlds. It’s really a juxtaposition of these two sides, local influences and Western influences

So what Usually Inspires a New Piece or Project?

It can be anything. It can be something I read, it can be a new idea I've discussed with somebody. It can be a movie, it can be a song. Usually it's not always set, because I start with one idea. I may have one idea that I want to explore. My process is I start with that idea, and I build up on that idea, meaning along the way I just bring more ideas, complementary ideas. It's kind of like an evolutionary process for me, where the pieces just start building up. So the inspiration can come from anywhere. It can come from multiple places. There's never a fixed source of inspiration for me. It can be anything, sound as well.

Would You Describe Your work as Dynamic and Constantly Evolving?

Yes, totally. I think I would, because I always want to push the boundaries of my expression. It really doesn't matter what medium I'm using.

I can be using photography as a medium, I'm using acrylic, I'm using charcoal, it can be multimedia. The medium doesn't really matter. What matters is how I express, how I'm able to bring out, materialise all these things, all this abstraction in my head, using that medium. So yes, I think it's very evolutionary.

What has Working Across different Forms of Expression made you Learn about Yourself as an Artist?

I think it's made me understand a certain level of rebellion. When you get into the art industry, when you go deeper, especially the capitalist side of the art industry, they start asking you, what kind of artist are you? What medium do you use? It's like you're supposed to carve this niche for yourself.

You're supposed to be this identifiable thing that people can say, I see your body of work, I'm supposed to know this.

Yes, these things help, but I feel from my practise that it's all largely BS, because with art you never really can stay static. You always have to explore, you always have to find new ways or push the bounds of your exploration. I think it teaches most artists to not stay still, to be very defiant, because society tries to set us up in stereotypes that are easily identifiable.

Art helps you become dynamic and random, meaning you can decide to do one thing, and in the next minute you can decide to do something entirely different, and that's not a problem. It's taught me to be fearless, and be, I think, brilliant in terms of letting go, in terms of moving on, in terms of not being afraid to try something new, because you always learn something new from something you haven't done before, or a medium you haven't used, or making a mistake.

You're like, oh, okay, this thing is cool. You learn something new. So I think those are the things that I have learned that are very important to me.

What Inspired You to Experiment with Different Materials?

It's just curiosity. It's just curiosity, because if I'm making a composition, certain colours, if you put blue beside red, it gives you a feeling, and the feeling is subjective, because how I would feel is different from how you would feel. It's like you're chasing something very abstract. You cannot stick to boring or what you know. It's not like a mathematical formula that has to be part of a kind of way.

It can be any kind of way. So there's this excitement with trying out something new, maybe trying out fabric over paint, or trying a lot of times it doesn't work out. But around then you're like, hmm, this is interesting.

Every material has a certain dimension to it that the next material doesn't have. Clay has a different dimension and possibilities than charcoal. The same thing with acrylic, the same thing with sound.

Every medium has, whether it is physical or not, a dimension to it and a road that leads to certain possibilities. The more mediums you play with, the more array of possibilities that are present.

Can You Walk me through the Process of Making an Artwork?

I have a conceptualisation in my head. I take a picture. Let's say I stage in my head the composition, what I want to do. I figure out my model, my subject. Is my subject going to be male? Is it going to be female? What is my subject going to be doing? Are there going to be all these hidden Easter eggs in the composition? I figure that thing out first. Then I do a photo shoot. Find my subject, find the settings, set it up. Then I do a photo shoot. Then when I'm done with the photo shoot, I take the photos out and I do a selection. I find the photo that is most appealing to me.

Then I start building that picture digitally. I start adding my elements. I start adding ideas to it. If I wanted to do something that I couldn't do physically, I now start adding that thing It will take me maybe 3-4 months to build up that composition in such a way that it is a very cohesive piece. You would find most of my works would have maybe 20, 30, 50 to 100 layers. If you stood in front of a blown up digital piece, there's always something new you're going to see because of how many layers and how much time it has taken me to work through the different layers and merge those layers and move on to layers.

When do You Decide that an Artwork is Complete?

When I look at it and I don't want to spoil it, I'm ready to let go of this piece. Up until then, if I feel like something is missing, I know I'm not done yet.

How does Painting Differ from You Photography Practice?

My photography is very detailed and often heavy in terms of ideas and storytelling. Painting gives me the ability to be on the other side of the spectrum, to be more abstract and playful. In my paintings, I don’t want to stick to regular shapes or realism. I like distorting things and approaching forms in a more fluid way. At the same time, I use colour to create harmony within the work.

Painting also reflects your state of mind. I approach it with a freer mindset because I want to play and experiment without overthinking. That’s very different from my photography, which is usually much more conceptual and layered. With my recent paintings, I haven’t really been thinking about identity or heavy themes. I’ve been more interested in creating something that brings life into a space, something that feels visually engaging and alive.

I think about how children paint without overanalysing anything. They’re just playing. There’s a -discovery certain freedom in that, and that’s what I’m trying to embrace with painting.