FORM, MEDIUM, AND MEANING: THE AESTHETIC CONSTRUCTION OF THE NUDE FEMALE BODY IN NIGERIAN MODERN ART

Abstract

This paper examines the aesthetic representation of the nude female figure in Nigerian contemporary art, focusing on its formal, material, and symbolic dimensions. The study addresses the problem of limited critical engagement with the ways Nigerian artists mediate between inherited Western traditions of the nude and indigenous cultural, spiritual, and moral values. Existing scholarship often privileges Eurocentric interpretations, thereby overlooking the recontextualization of the nude as a site of identity, resistance, and cultural critique in Nigerian art. The main objective of the study is to analyse how Nigerian artists reinterpret the nude not merely as an aesthetic form, but as a space of empowerment, decolonial expression, and feminist agency. Specifically, the study investigates how artistic strategies and material choices, such as ceramics and mixed media, enable new visual and symbolic possibilities that disrupt conventional narratives of objectification. Methodologically, the research adopts a qualitative and interpretive approach through the visual analysis of selected works by Ngozi Omeje Ezema and Nnenna Okore. This approach is supported by critical engagement with feminist and postcolonial scholarship. The theoretical framework is grounded in decolonial aesthetics and feminist theory, while the conceptual framework situates the nude as both an artistic trope and a cultural text that reflects broader negotiations of gender and power. The findings demonstrate that Nigerian artists do not simply inherit the Western motif of the nude; rather, they reinterpret it to challenge objectification, reassert local aesthetics, and foreground issues of female autonomy, spirituality, and cultural identity. The paper concludes that the nude in Nigerian contemporary art functions as a powerful site for redefining aesthetics and negotiating identity on indigenous terms.