Bridging biology and art: An interview with Nigerian artist Samuel Ubong

‘Art is life and biology is the study of life’

Originally published on Global Voices

Samuel Ubong “Aritokonson” Okon is a Nigerian school teacher and self-taught artist whose surrealistic paintings have included depictions of human organs, skeletons, blood, plants, animals and life processes.

His work and illustrations can also be seen in children's books, and his paintings were displayed at a recent solo exhibition entitled “Metanoia,” which ran from August 30 to September 2 at Photocarrefour Gallery in Abuja, Nigeria's capital city. 

Ubong, 32, who holds a Bachelor of Science degree in biology, acknowledges the influence that subject has on his art, “My artwork captures the paradox of life's brevity and nature's infinite rhythms.” It's a story that he tells from the first to the last painting in the Metanoia series about “the vast continuum and cycle of life.”

In a phone interview with Global Voices, Ubong shared his approach to his art.

Pamela Ephraim (PE): Tell us about your recent exhibition, “Metanoia,” and the inspiration behind it. 

Samuel Ubong (SU): Metanoia is a depiction of life's processes, a journey through childhood to adulthood starting from the inception; the concept of birth — the fusion/collaboration between a father and mother, how they have to come together to give birth to a child. What they contribute forms the child's idea and perception about the world. Metanoia is a Greek word meaning changes, and the pieces explore the metamorphosis of life from inception to death.

One of my pieces, entitled “The essence of union,” intricately weaves together the concepts of biology, love, creation, and the profound influence parents have on shaping a child's perception of the world. This artwork centers on a human heart, meticulously detailed to show its ventricles and auricles, within which two faces, a male and a female, are intertwined. Their brains overlap, symbolizing the deep intellectual and emotional connection that defines their partnership. The eye represents the shared power of knowledge these couples share of their world, themselves and the process of knowing the becoming of their child from inception to formative years to their temperament development. 

Flowing down from their intertwined forms, their spinal cords, depicted as DNA strands, converge at the head and umbilical cord of the developing fetus, nestled within its own world inside the heart.

This connection visually represents the crucial role that parents play in the formation of their child’s reality from the very beginning of life. The fetus, surrounded by the warmth and protection of the heart, symbolizes a world being built by the thoughts, emotions, and experiences of the parents. This debunks the theory that a child is born as a “tabula rasa” as the parents have already instilled intuitive data, which is innate and unique through the fusion of their genetic codes.

PE: Can you speak more about your educational background in biology and how you began to merge it into art?

SU: I always had a passion for the arts. I remember scribbling a lot as a child, but my mom didn't like that. She wanted me to become a doctor; I don't blame her because it was perceived as an economically smart decision. She didn't know the value of art, so she frowned upon my desire to do art. I ended up earning a Bachelor's degree in biology at Ahmadu Bello University and a postgraduate diploma in education.

I have worked as a classroom teacher for years, and I am currently a Teach for Nigeria fellow, where I teach Primary 3 (Grade 3) pupils. I am a two-time author of children's books. The first is an illustration book entitled Hayatou and the Honey Bees; the second is Nipsey the Ginger Cat.

PE: What is your approach to incorporating biology into your art? What is the message that you seek to share by this combination?

SU: My work seeks to show the relationship between biology and art and how it affects us. Art is life, and biology is the study of life. Life in itself is a function of biology. Art is telling us that we cannot do without biology and biology is telling us to appreciate art. My work explores the integration of biology into artistic expression. Although most people categorize them as two very distinct disciplines, their combination can create new opportunities to improve dissemination.

PE: What has been the impact or reception of your art? 

SU: The reception of my art generally has been positive because it comes from an original standpoint where most of the ideas are relatable to events, ideas and states of feeling. At the exhibition, the connectedness of the story with biology, emotions and psychology inspires a form of introspection, a deeper thought and reflection. In everyday settings, my art has been able to inspire laughter, nostalgia and mini-controversy among peers and strangers who come across the work. They ask questions like, “How did you even think of this?”

PE: How do you achieve these bizarre pieces? Take us through your creative process.

SU: My creative process is serendipitous. It's accidental. I get inspiration from conversations and random thought processes, then I try to perform certain types of rituals — when I return from work, I shower, burn my incense, play some calm music and then I grab my brushes to paint. I try to work quietly. 

PE: Is there a particular piece from the Metanoia series you are particularly fond of?

SU: I am fond of all my pieces, but the one that resonates most with me is actually “Happiness regardless” and “The essence of union” because in the Metanoia story, they represent the beginning and the end, which is an irony. “Happiness regardless” is actually a promise of a beginning, while “The essence of union” is a beginning of a union.

Written by Pamela Ephraim