Abstract

Reclamation of discarded material objects and cultural forms should not end in the physical aesthetic juxtaposition of both, whether in protest of our high-culture environment and the nuances of beauty, as is often seen in subversive forms of most contemporary art practices. Neither should the idea of re-use be allowed to drift into mere panoply of reclaimed materials within the spectrum of art creation. Rather, there should be clear alliances to formulate interventions, which not only identifies and challenges our environmental exigencies but also formulate processes and methods of making and remaking to bring a balance between the depleting environment, its replenishment and continuity. Therefore, this research-creation thesis, through the ecological channels inherited from traditional Nigerian craft practices, responds to that intervention by defining a specific and unique path despite what is applicable on a universal platform. Just as the methodologies that inform this research are unconventional so will the style of documentation and discussion you will find here be different from the conventional academic format of written scholarship. It will be more akin to the traditional pedagogic mannerisms of oral lore manifested through visual descriptive interpretations adapted from an alignment with my historical Nigerian (Igbo) heritage. The nature of this research-creation departs from accounts which permeate the regular spectrum of normative documentation and interpretation of research findings. Today’s academic environment must give room for shifts in methods of modern learning and can only be encompassing when indigenous scholarship and research methods have equal acknowledgement.