Forward to the Past: Re-engaging Uli in New Experiments

Opening times: 10:30am-5pm Tuesday – Saturday and late on Thursdays until 8pm. Entry free and open to the public. On until 10 December 2022

SOAS’s Brunei Gallery is pleased to present this collaborative exhibition curated by Chuu Krydz Ikwuemesi of Nigerian artists drawing on and connecting with the tradition of Uli as an artform in their work.

“Uli refers at once to different but related things. It is the name of the indigo dye obtained from several species of plants identified with various botanical names and used for drawing on the human body. Apart from describing the dye, the word, uli, also stands for the drawing made on the body or wall with the dye or pigment; and it is also the name of the art tradition in which the indigo dye or earth pigments were used. The word Uli equally functioned as an aesthetic determinant among the Igbo, referring to various nuances of beauty, intricacy and manifestation of design skill. Beyond its cosmetic and clinical possibilities, Uli also served as dress or clothing among some Igbo women folk in pre-contact times. Derived originally from the body painting technique, Uli wall painting is bolder and more vigorous.” - Chuu Krydz Ikwuemesi

Artists included: Eziafo Okaro; Roseline Chukwu; Lucy Iwegbu, Chinyere Odinukwe; Chijioke Onuora; George Odoh; Chuu Krydz Ikwuemesi; Rita Okafor; Nneka Odoh; Kenechukwu Udeaja; Chukwuemeka Akachukwu; Petrolina Ikwuemesi; Rita Doris Ubah; Iyke Okenyi and Chike Azuonye.

Organiser: Brunei Gallery, SOAS

Contact email: gallery@soas.ac.uk