Andy Ikechukwu Emueze is a graduate of Painting from the Federal Polytechic Auchi. Since graduation from school, he has pursued a passion in the arts, which he eventually turned into a career. Born in Lagos in the 1970s, Ikechukwu has to his credit several exhibitions within and outside the shores of Lagos.

Recently he held a two week art exhibition titled,The harvest at the Imperial Chinese Cuisine, Victoria Island, where he exhibited some of his vibrant, lively and alluring paintings to the glare of art lovers, friends and contemporaries.In this interview,Esther Onyegbula spoke with him and he talked about his inspirations and other sundry issues.

What do you intend to achieve with this exhibition now?

One of the works by A. Emueze

I naturally intend to communicate my views to the world through the only language I understand which is art. Unlike before, I want to let go of some works which I have kept for years and at the same time, preach my message of harvest, the message of believing that no matter how things may seem, that there is still light and that light can still come out of darkness.

It is my belief that no matter how we complain everyday, take for instance, the way politicians go about the political governance of this country. Nobody has the interest of the nation at heart, but rather come to the table with the intention of sharing the national cake without any mission to add value to the system.

But the fact remains that we have democracy which is better than the best military government. So, lets continue’to hope for the best, believing that one day we will get to the expected end.

Could you please give a detailed background of some of the works exhibited here today?

The works I have on the exhibition stand, the oldest of them was done in 2004. I have works expressed in different media: oil, pastels, charcoal, acrylics, and the uniqueness of my style is based on the fact that I love to work with lines.

Another prominent feature of my works is the eyes because that is the window to the soul. Whatever you feel inside your soul expresses itself from the eyes and apart from that, there is this wisdom of the eyes which is like a light to me. If our eyes are open, if we can really see with our eyes most of the things we are doing we would not be doing them.

If you have to describe your work, what adjectives would you use to do that?

I am an artist that flows with mood. I work with everything. I don’t restrict myself to a particular style. It is my mood that dictates the message that I pass through my works; and also, determines the medium I use.

But, one thing I do always is that I enjoy using lines because lines fit into the background and you can’t identify a particular form out of it. Even when I paint human beings, you see my lines, the body structure and the background. You cannot separate the form; the reason being that if we blend into our environment perfectly we will have less problems.

How many work are you exhibiting?

I am exhibiting thirty five works, all master pieces and not mass produced.

How fulfilling is it being an artist in Nigeria?

If I have to be sincere to you, in terms of financial fulfillment, the financial gains subdue the passion; that is if you allow it to, but one thing I know is that if your passion is strong it brings out the financial gain. Like this is one exhibition that I didn’t really have to struggle to put things together because my friends packaged it. All I did was the art work and you can see the turn out of people. If you allow the financial gain to cloud you, it will kill your emotions and it will kill your love for the arts.