Footnotes

Provenance
A private collection.

Paired with his developed cataracts in both eyes from the years 1979 to 1983, the period of painting that followed was known as his period of "Painting in Darkness". The works created in this period may well have had their palette mixed from memory. This would have been a time of anxiety for the artist who described it as a period of "pulling through". (Uzo Egonu, 'Painting in Darkness 1979-1983', undated manuscript, p 2. Artist's private papers.)

Ironically included in this dark period, the palette of the present work is bright and vivacious, a technique that would transcend into the following years after Egonu received his last eye operation in 1983 restoring his sight. While his eyesight improved, the decline in Egonu's physical health given two heart attacks and a diagnosis of limited time to live motivated the artist to get his estate and administration in order, preparing for the end of his life. Outliving his health predictions, Egonu's work would again evolve, stimulated by what he believed to be "a new lease of life". (Egonu, 'The Circumstances leading to the creation of the work', undated paper. Artist's private papers.) It was this newly found defiance and energy that would turn Egonu's attention to a more contemplative observation of himself. This commentary began with self-portraits in the form of large-scale heads in the first of a series of paintings under the shared title A New Lease of Life.

"A person may detest exercise or walking, prefers [sic] butter to low cholesterol margarine, likes drippings... but circumstances, due to the consequences of that particular life style which affects the health, may wipe out all the detestations".(Egonu, 'The Circumstances leading to the creation of the work', undated paper. Artist's private papers.)

Aligning with the above quotation, the present work shows us the theoretical elements of a traditional still life. Depicting his reality, and the objects that surround his life, using them as a self-reflective metaphor, we see tins of food labelled 'Low Fat Yogurt', 'Sunflower margarine', 'Sunflower Oil' , and 'Skimmed milk'. Accompanied by illustrations of vegetables and fruit, this food lies beneath a building labelled 'Natural Health Clinic'. An inscription to the upper left of the work reads 'Lecithin Granules', commonly used to treat high cholesterol and further acts as an emulsifier to extend the life of food. It is an extremely rare element of Egonu's practise whereby he would include labelling and words in his art, promoting this idea that his later works following his health issues where more intentional and self-reflective in their meaning, rather than ambiguous and up for interpretation. This could be classed therefore as a type of self-portrait depicting the elements of his life that were relevant to his everyday life.

Our thanks to Prof. Olu Oguibe author of 'Uzo Egonu, An African Artist in the West', pub 1995 for his assistance with the compilation of the above footnote.

Bibliography
Chinua Achebe, 'Onitsha: Gift of the Niger', Morning Yet on Creation Day, (London: Heinemann, 1975)