Joys, Triumphs And The Unknown: Victoria Ndubuisi Intimates Us On her New Body Of Work And…

Joys, Triumphs And The Unknown: Victoria Ndubuisi Intimates Us On her New Body Of Work And Exhibition Omugwo

Victoria Ndubuisi by her work Blessed Womb

Umuala caught up with Victoria Ndubuisi at Nomadic Gallery during her exhibition titled Omugwo. It’s an exhibition showcasing the latest body of work from the artist, centring on her journey through pregnancy and afterwards. She is vulnerable in sharing her story of the unknown, the joys and triumph she experienced. We talk about favourite pieces, processes and firsts.

So can you tell us why Blessed Womb is your favourite piece from the exhibition?

Blessed Womb is my favourite piece because it’s where I got the revelation of the child I’m carrying and that I’m pregnant. When I found out I made this piece and the performance, I was overwhelmed, I was happy. It’s the first painting I created for the exhibition. I poured all my heart into it actually, I let myself and my baby connect and flow in creating this piece so that is why Blessed Womb is one of my great pieces. And why Unseen Journey is my most spiritual piece is because I created that piece in my most vulnerable state, I was scared, I was anxious, I was going through a lot at that period of time, I did not know what my future held and I couldn’t foresee it, I couldn’t tell at that moment in time if I’d still be alive, I didn’t know if I’ll still be on earth talking to you. So this really is my most spiritual piece, I had to ring the earth in order to come and dance with me as I created this piece. Ahhh! Have you ever created a piece that you don’t even want to sell, this is it. And Adaku Nwa Nwam is actually one of the great pieces. I like the connection and bonding between my baby and my mum. I saw my mum bonding with my baby and how she cared for her, it’s really really connecting with me, and while Nwam, my child, the circle work, is my testimony, I was really blessed doing that particular work, and My Little Miracle is a self portrait of me and my son, it’s showing the bond I have with my baby and how he is also connecting with his sister, so I really love this. It shows the connection between me and my baby and allows people to actually connect with their baby, bonding and love that comes with it, and the miracle that is my womb opener. This piece, this particular one My Little Miracle makes me feel as though I should hang it in my room.

Blessed Womb, 2025. Victoria Ndubuisis

The tones, the earthly tones. When I finished doing the marbling, dancing on the canvas, I would come back the next day to see that as it dried it would swing the colours, they would dance with each other to create what they wanted to give; so it gives to me something miraculous. And you see some tiny details looking like people hiding inside of it; it’s really beautiful. I love how earthly it is, the brown, the blue, the red.

You spoke about the process. What is your process like, you said it starts with performance. Can you elaborate on that?

I like doing performances creating my pieces because there is more connection between me and my painting. When I am doing performances, I create something that comes from within me, it is not a planned work. Sometimes when some people draw they have the picture they want to draw or they have a particular way they want to do their marbling, but this one I actually make sure I don’t go with rules. I free myself, I dance with my calabash. Even indoors or outdoors, I do this on my canvas and I let my spirit guide, come back and see what I have created. And I like that fact that it’s unique to me, I don’t know about any other person but to me it’s actually a very unique technique that I discovered by myself, within my spirit, within myself and I love it, and I want people to also have a feel of it too.

You said The Birthing Ball is your first installation piece, so what inspired you to do one or why did you decide to do it for the first time for this exhibition?

I was told my baby was bridged so I was trying to use the birthing ball to get my baby to turn, so I was like ohhh this birthing ball, it signifies mother, it signifies Earth, we came into the world to multiply, so that is what gave me the idea. So during my marbling spray on it with gold, I love gold. The gold is to represent how golden we women are, we are like eggs, the circular form shows that we are Mother Earth, we dominate the Earth, we multiply the Earth. So the cord and the rope that links to the small balls, the balls are kids, the calabash is where the offspring is coming from, which is the father and truly, truly that’s where my colours are coming from, the calabash that is the brown, gold and earthly blue. So I’m showing the connection of the mother and child which is the umbilical tie and no matter how far the child goes the mother always connects to the children, so that is the Mother Earth connecting with us.

Birthing Ball, 2025. Victoria Ndubuisi

Why did you decide to do it in a 3D effect rather than a painting?

It’s visualising but I want people to see something new, something that’s not just a painting but installed, installation art, so I want people to have a different feel when they come to my exhibition and see a visual installation of what I’m talking about, omugwo.

I really like the way you framed some of the pieces. Quite beautiful!

I like to give that natural vibe, that natural feel. So I like that the mahogany will last forever, so an art piece is something that is to last for long, something that will pass from generation to generation as long as it’s well taken care of. So I want to give that scroll-like art, that ancient-like vibe, the scrolled paper the feel like in Moses’ time. I want people to feel the native vibe. So this is a modern form of framing work, this is a native way of framing work. So my painting no matter the body of work I create, I like taking people back in time, bringing the past and the present, they’re intertwining with each other.

Joys, Triumphs And The Unknown: Victoria Ndubuisi Intimates Us On her New Body Of Work And… was originally published in Umuala Journal on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.