Chinwe Uwatse NIGERIA , b. 1960

Chinwe Uwatse is a contemporary artist who paints mainly in the abstract uli style of the Nsukka School. She draws inspiration from everyday life, and is influenced by science fiction and fantasy.

Her central objective as an artist is to use her paintings to assist the preservation of femininity in uli design forms. Uli is the indigenous body art calligraphy of the Igbo of Southeastern Nigeria. Her watercolours and ink drawings have a somewhat ephemeral aspect to them, rich in symbolic nature and layered in soft hues. Uwatse is best known for focusing on the female ethos with a unique style that draws on the nature of the female body. She uses her art form as a vehicle to comment on the pressures and joys of universal womanhood.