BOTTLES

Alozie C. Onyirioha. Bottles. 2006. Clay on board. 244cm x 9cm.

The artwork, bottles is an assemblage of "halved" green ware bottles fastened onto an upright square wooden pedestal. The bottles all seem to be placed in a way that they generally assume the form of a whole bottle.
The artwork alludes to the ancient Chinese adage that states: " a full bottle won't shake, but a half one will". Things don't always seem to be what they appear and just like the overt picture of the bottle portrays a full structure, its individual parts reveal small, empty halves that finally affirm the fact that it is not as stable as it is meant to be. Nigeria is popularly regarded as the Giant of Africa due to our geometric and population size and our natural and human resources, but our political and socio-economic policies and the nature and attitudes of our leaders over the last forty years showcase a pattern that reveals a "halved" and "empty" effigy of the democratic ideal.