William Chechet – Wake Up, We’re Still Dreaming

William Chechet is a visual artist based in Nigeria. The artist was born in Kano, but was raised in Kaduna, Northern Nigeria, where he draws a lot of inspiration from in his artistic practice. Chechet has received a Bachelor of Arts in Industrial Design at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria. Chechet strongly believes that art has the power to heal, inspire and bring people together. The artist is well known for his explosive Pop Art collages that overlap images of popular culture with archival  imagery of his Northern Nigerian heritage and nobility, and its historical tradition of horse-riding. 

In Wake Up, We’re Still Dreaming William Chechet pushes the technique of collage to alert his viewers and audiences on how history is constructed and framed.  In taking apart everyday materials, the artist breathes a new life and function to the imagery. In this act of making Chechet captures a new truth to the photographed subject beyond the colonial gaze. The technique of collage affords the artist plenty of opportunities to re-make history and trim away the colonial inheritances of cultural images. Collage and Pop-art both serve as powerful tools for introspection and critiquing everyday structures that govern the lives of the post-colonial subject. Wake up, We’re Still Dreaming relays this important message of the artist. These new bodies of work capture the world of his Wisemen where we come to see the various moments of Upsurge and Redemption being carved out by Chechet.  The show will be on view at Eclectica Contemporary, Cape Town from the 2nd November until 6th December 2023.