ABSTRACT
Following a sustained depletion of communal (tribal) values by Western civilization, Omabe, the central visual symbol upon which the life values of the Nsukka-Igbo were safeguarded for thousands of years, lost its worth, as interpretations of its form, followed divergent conceptions or understandings of the culture. As installation art utilizes elements of eroding cultural practice of this kind, to arouse public discourse, which sometimes, leads to its revitalization, this research was undertaken, with the aim of creating installation sculptures from the various conceptions of Omabe in Nsukka. Through practice-based research technique, involving: previous collections and documentations of unusual developments around Omabe tradition; reflection on popular statements of and about Omabe; participatory observation of Omabe-related activities; interaction with the key players in the affairs of Omabe; and conception simulation, involving metaphoric description of Omabe tradition by the natives; the form-conceptions of Omabe tradition in the area were extracted. In the results generally, the descriptions followed two main form-frames: horrific forms and glorious forms. It became apparent that, the present circumstance (today) is a battleground between the cultural protagonists, who reflected Omabe's past glory and wished that yesterday should return; and its antagonists, who projected that Omabe has no place in science-prone future (tomorrow) and wished that it is accelerated to the point of no return. So, refractive gaze studio approach, involving: ?Reviewing Today?, in which elements of the wishes, in all the form-descriptions of Omabe by the people, were directly gazed out and defined on pieces of its manifestation objects; ?Predicting Yesterday?, which engaged the forms of Omabe, as described by its cultural protagonists, by assimilating, gazing and defining them in household objects and trees; and ?Invoking Tomorrow?, which similarly engaged Omabe forms, as perceived by its cultural antagonists, in strange and unrelated materials like sticks, domestic animals, and children; was developed and employed to correlate and configure forms and installations from the two main positions. Then, remnants of bamboo, rattle-staff, and calabash, became Omabe-forms; stem-masked mango tree, baskets embossed with Naira notes, and stalk-ornamented flame of the forest tree, became Omabe-based installations; and sticks masked with jute, a girl, and a goat masked with Jewish-like shawl, and a chicken masked with cellophane, became Omabe-based installations too. The form-conceptions of the protagonists and those of the antagonists were also jointly contemplated upon and refracted in familiar and unfamiliar materials; and a configuration of palm frond stalks and a plastic chair; a hollowed trunk with a lad in it; and a barricaded masquerade-tree with a flag-pole, became Omabe-based installations as well. Most of these installations were executed site-specifically, where they provoked discussions and debates among the people on the conceptions of the Omabe tradition. It was discovered that, although Omabe was no more awesome in its inclinations, it could be revived in the conceptualism of installation art because: formless conception can be given physical representation. It was then recommended that, for sculpture (including installation-performances like Omabe) in the modern time to play a role of binding people together, it should be inclusive and conceptual in nature. By harnessing conceptions, adapting refractive gaze, and appropriating tree-masquerading, the research expanded the limits of artistic collaboration, approach, and language.