Arit Emmanuela Etukudo shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Arit Emmanuela, a huge thanks to you for investing the time to share your wisdom with those who are seeking it. We think it’s so important for us to share stories with our neighbors, friends and community because knowledge multiples when we share with each other. Let’s jump in: Who are you learning from right now?
I’m learning a lot from my younger self right now. Specifically, the chaotic parts. She’s reminding me to continuously chase after fear and confront the things that scared me. I think as I got older I began slowing down… a little bit too much. Now, I’m safely and smartly reverting back to the chaos of chasing freedom and a dream.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hi, my name is Arit Emmanuela Etukudo and I am an experimental self-portrait artist. I truly believe that self reflection is medicine and that we all need to heal the fractured parts of ourselves back together in order to survive this world. My practice mirrors both this act of reflection and repair. I push past the monolith of existence and express my identity in sculpture, film, photograph, song, poem, installation, and any other material that may speak to my physical and metaphysical being. I constantly dissect and reform myself in an attempt to understand and heal these identities within me. Then I turn the work to my viewers and ask them to do the same.
Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
God. God saw me clearly and knew me before I touched this earth. God saw my gifts, my passions, my fears, everything. I love that I can become that person that was seen and use my art to further my existence by giving everyone else the opportunity to see me too.
What fear has held you back the most in your life?
The fear of losing myself. I’m working through this now, but the fear of losing the person who I’ve worked so hard to become held me back for a long time. At one point, it stopped me from evolving. For example, I’ve always loved using darkness in my work because the idea of a multitude of things existing within the ‘void’ spoke to me. And it worked for me, people told me all the time how much they loved the use of darkness in my work. So I became tied to it, so much so that I shied away from color in an attempt to “stay true” to myself. Luckily, I eventually realized my own fluidity and abandoned that thought process. I absolutely still use darkness in my work, but I also use light and color and texture. I understand now that we are meant to evolve, and change, and revisit our past selves. This is all a part of existing.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What do you believe is true but cannot prove?
That we’re all born bad and have to be taught and make the choice to be good. This can come off sounding very pessimistic but I don’t see it in a negative way. To me, it’s a recognition of the beauty of human growth. The fact that we can be taught kindness, empathy, and compassion. Instead of being diminishing, this shows we have an active power in shaping ourselves and each other. It means that goodness is not an accident.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. How do you know when you’re out of your depth?
When I’m failing. That’s when I know I’m doing something right.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.AritEmmanuela.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Arit_Emmanuela
