Hey everyone. I wanted to share this project with you for a long time. For a couple of years, I’ve been working on the illustrations for a beautiful story : Nkemdiche, Why We Do Not Grow Beards. The story is an Igbo folktale, written by Obiora Nwazota, a visionary architect and designer from Nigeria. We worked together for a long time getting the right aesthetic, patterns, colors, and I got the chance to get immersed in the culture of the Igbo people.
It was only a scratch on the surface. So much to be humbled by. So much for people from Africa and African descent to reclaim. We looked at the art, the architecture, dove into the Igbo cosmology and philosophy (Omenala), looked at the wonderful diversity of patterns (Uli, the Nsibidi Alphabet, and the coded Ukara cloth from the mysterious Ekpe society).
Okpara House was founded by Obiora to celebrate the Igbo culture and place it back on the map, and by doing so, elevating the culture and history of all African countries and placing it on the same level than white western countries and culture. African art is all but primitive, African culture is all but monolithic. Patterns are all but only ornemental. There is so, so much to learn.
It took nearly two years to put the book together, thanks to Obiora’s guidance and vision, Nick Adam and Bud Rodecker from Span Studio for their expertise, typesetting and cover design, and Ebere Agwuncha for the documentation, graphic design, planning, production and so much more.
I strongly encourage you to visit the website okparahouse.com to learn more about Igbo culture, the upcoming projects and order a copy of this book in the US.
Nkemdiche in the press :
https://100.sta-chicago.org/winners/2021/nkemdiche
https://50books50covers.secure-platform.com/a/gallery/rounds/159/details/43437
https://eyeondesign.aiga.org/six-great-book-covers-and-the-stories-behind-them/
The Chicago Tribune : Obi Nwazota’s ‘Nkemdiche’ looks at Black hair through lens of African folklore
https://www.printmag.com/post/the-daily-heller-celebrating-nigerian-folk-tales