In Ikot Ide Etukudo, a village tucked away in southeastern Nigeria, Sunday Jack Akpan turns plain old cement into memories you can touch. His sculptures, tribal chiefs brought to life in bold colours and finished with glossy enamel, started as grave markers in Nigeria. Now, some have ended up at the Centre Pompidou in Paris. Born on August 1, 1940, in Ibesikpo, Akwa Ibom State, Akpan never attended art school. Instead, he built a bridge from tradition to the present, showing everyone that African art deserves a place alongside Western masterpieces. He learnt bricklaying, not sculpture, but for fifty years, he’s reimagined what Nigerian art can be. His cement figures stand tall, refusing to let a fast-changing world forget where they came from.
Sunday Jack Akpan’s cement sculptures of Nigerian chiefs grace the Centre Pompidou, bridging traditional Ibibio artistry with global museum collections.
How Does a Bricklayer Become a Sculptor?
Akpan didn’t start in a studio. He learnt his trade at construction sites, training under Albert Edet Essien to lay bricks. Somewhere along the way, he realised that cement could do much more than just build walls. By 1972, he had opened his own studio and went all in as a cement sculptor.
Choosing cement was a bold move. People in southeastern Nigeria had always carved wood or shaped terracotta for their funerary art, but those didn’t last in the humid climate. Cement was different; it stood the test of time. After the Biafran War, communities searched for new ways to honour their dead, and Akpan’s work took off. His naturalistic style set him apart, and he became the leading Ibibio sculptor.
Flip over his business card, and you’ll see just how wide his skills stretch: “Undertakes Construction of Images, Statues, Tombstones of all kinds, Pottery Products, Marble Tombstones, Decoration of House Furniture, Drawing, and General Arts.” He’s a modern African version of a mediaeval craftsman, ready to take on sacred projects or everyday jobs.
What Makes His Style Stand Out?
Akpan’s sculptures don’t just fill a room; they dominate it. His figures, a bit larger than life, depict tribal chiefs in full ceremonial dress: enormous headdresses, traditional robes, and every symbol of power you can imagine. He doesn’t miss a single detail, whether it’s the way the fabric falls or the delicate texture of beads. Every piece carries the authority and dignity of authentic leadership.
He starts with photos. Clients bring him pictures of their loved ones, and Akpan brings them back to life in 3D. It’s not just about getting the face right. He tries to capture the person’s spirit, character, status, and what made them who they were.
Once the cement’s set, he goes in with enamel paints: brilliant reds, almost electric blues, and shining golds. These colours aren’t just for the show. In West Africa, every hue means something, whether it’s spiritual or social. His finished pieces don’t just sit there; they glow, the bright paint playing off the raw, tough cement underneath.
How Did His Art End Up at the Centre Pompidou?
Akpan’s leap from local memorial artist to international exhibitor has its own story. His big break came in 1985, when “Sculptures en Ciment du Nigeria” opened at the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Calais. Stuttgart exhibited his work three years later. But 1989 changed everything. Curator Jean-Hubert Martin launched “Magiciens de la Terre” at the Centre Georges Pompidou, gathering over a hundred artists from fifty countries, half of them from outside the West. Martin wanted to shake up the art world, to prove that creativity wasn’t just a Western thing.
Akpan’s cement chiefs greeted visitors at the entrance. This was not a coincidence; it conveyed a clear message: Nigerian art should be at the forefront of the discourse. Inside, you’d find Marina Abramović and John Baldessari, but also Chéri Samba, Bodys Isek Kingelez, and Akpan himself, all speaking with their own voices, taken seriously.
The show kicked up a lot of debate about who gets to define “art” and whose stories get told. Still, it made a mark. It helped open up the art world and made it a little more democratic. In 2014, the Centre Pompidou brought it all back for the 25th anniversary, a nod to a moment that changed everything.
Where Else Has His Work Been Celebrated?
After “Magiciens de la Terre,” Akpan’s career took off internationally. In 1989, his work showed up in “Icons: Ideals and Power in the Art of Africa” at the National Museum of African Art in Washington, DC. Two years later, New York’s “Africa Explores: 20th Century African Art” put his painted cement chief right next to Ghana’s Kane Kwei coffins shaped like cars and aeroplanes. This pairing effectively highlighted the inventiveness and diversity of African art.
Then came the Venice Biennale in 2001. Akpan’s sculptures stood among a sea of contemporary art from around the world at the “Plateau of Humankind” exhibition. That year marked the height of his international profile.
His momentum didn’t stop there. “Africa Remix: Contemporary Art of a Continent” (2004–2006) took his work to major museums, including the Kunstpalast in Düsseldorf, the Hayward Gallery in London, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, Moderna Museet in Stockholm, and the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo. Now, if you want to see his art up close, you can find it in permanent collections like the Horniman Museum in London and the Musée d’Art Contemporain in Lyon.
What Cultural Traditions Inform His Practice?
To really get Akpan’s sculptures, you have to see where they come from: Ibibio culture. The Ibibio have a deep artistic tradition; wood carving, masquerades, and commemorative works are all part of it. Funerals, especially, call for sculptures that remember the dead and keep their memory alive, acting as both a tribute and a spiritual link to ancestors.
Akpan pushes this tradition forward. These days, families ask him for cement portraits of their late patriarchs, blending old customs with new materials. The sculptures mark graves, honour statuses, and keep memories alive for the whole community.
But Akpan doesn’t just stick to the past. His subjects go beyond traditional chiefs. You’ll find soldiers in camouflage, colonial police chiefs, people dressed in European styles, and figures that reflect the shifting power dynamics in Nigeria’s 20th century. His work tracks both cultural change and tradition.
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How Do His Sculptures Navigate Art and Function?
There’s a real push-and-pull in Akpan’s work: are these pieces grave markers or fine art? Initially, families commissioned Nigerian cemeteries to honour loved ones, mark burial sites, and show family standing.
Once these sculptures land in museums like the Centre Pompidou or the Horniman, though, everything changes. They’re no longer just headstones; they become art for viewers to admire and artefacts that carry Nigerian culture into the global spotlight.
Akpan doesn’t seem caught up in those labels. Just look at his business card; it offers all sorts of services, with no hint of a hierarchy. He’s like those mediaeval craftsmen who could carve a cathedral and make a kitchen bench with the same skill. He moves between sacred commissions and everyday jobs.
That kind of flexibility challenges the Western habit of splitting art and craft into separate boxes. For Akpan, a cement chief can be beautiful, functional, meaningful, and social, all at once. There’s no need to choose.
What Legacy Does He Leave?
Even in his eighties, Akpan’s impact on Nigerian sculpture runs deep. He proved that industrial materials have cultural power, that you can take old, familiar forms and push them into new times without losing their soul, and that Nigerian artists deserve a place on the world stage.
The cement sculpture tradition he started still thrives in southeastern Nigeria. Younger artists are picking up where he left off, adding their own twists but always building on what he began. On the international scene, museums began to view African contemporary art differently, thanks in no small part to his work appearing in landmark exhibitions.
But honestly, his most lasting mark lives in the stories of everyday people. All over Akwa Ibom State, families visit cemeteries where Akpan’s cement figures keep memories alive. These sculptures don’t just decorate graves; they anchor memories, turning loss into something you can see and touch, long after individuals are gone.
Conclusion
Sunday Jack Akpan’s sculptures don’t fit neatly into art history boxes. They grew from Ibibio funerary traditions and the hands of a bricklayer, but now you’ll find them everywhere from village cemeteries to museums in Paris. His work refuses to choose between serving real community needs and reaching for artistic brilliance. He shows that heritage isn’t a cage; it’s a launchpad. Local practices can speak to the whole world.
In a time when global culture often feels like it’s flattening out everything unique, Akpan’s sculptures push back. They’re unmistakably Nigerian, unmistakably Ibibio, unmistakably his. Still, anyone, anywhere, can stand before them and feel the pull: honouring the dead, respecting leaders, making sure memories don’t fade.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Who is Sunday Jack Akpan?
Sunday Jack Akpan (born August 1, 1940) is a Nigerian sculptor from Akwa Ibom State, famous for his life-sized cement portraits of tribal chiefs. His work has appeared at the Centre Pompidou and other major international venues.
2. What materials does he use?
He works with cement, crafting life-sized figures and finishing them with bright enamel paints. This makes his work tough enough for outdoor display but detailed enough to look lifelike.
3. Where has his work been exhibited?
You’ll find his sculptures at the Centre Pompidou’s “Magiciens de la Terre” (1989), the Venice Biennale (2001), “Africa Remix” (2004-2006), and in collections at the Horniman Museum and Musée d’Art Contemporain.
4. What training did he receive?
He never went to art school. Akpan learnt bricklaying as an apprentice under Albert Edet Essien, then started sculpting full-time in 1972.
5. What subjects does he depict?
He creates realistic portraits of Nigerian tribal chiefs, warriors, spiritual leaders, and dignitaries, usually working from photographs. He also creates figures representing different social roles and power dynamics.
6. Why is he culturally significant?
Akpan transformed Ibibio funerary sculpture by switching from wood to cement, creating a new Nigerian tradition that earned worldwide museum recognition while still meeting his community’s needs.
