My encounter in Nigeria —Esther Polak

Esther Polak, an artist from Netherland, was in Nigeria recently to showcase her artistic style. Monitoring the movement of Peak milk from Lagos to the different parts of the country, Polak, with the aid of the newest technology in art, gave a graphic movement of the Nigerian landscape. In this interview with CHIBUEZE OKEREKE, she narrates her Nigerian experience and other interesting issues

Could you explain what the whole idea behind the Peak milk distribution project is all about?

I don’t really have a message because I am interested, like a painter, in the picture of a landscape. But instead of using paint, I use new technologies like video, sound and GPS recording.
Obviously, because I am in interested in mobility and landscape, I find Nigeria a very interesting place. This is because of the mobility pattern of the Fulani people and the Peak milk distribution. So, I was interested in showing these two sides of the Nigerian landscape.

From your experience in Nigeria, how would you describe your effort to make sure that every part of Nigeria gets milk?

Going round Nigeria should be different from going round Netherlands because it’s a huge country. The people were so extremely friendly. So, I got to know the people from the Fulani side and they totally assisted me so much so that I was able to work with the herdsmen and many families.
Following the Peak milk distribution, I won’t say it was easy, but I would say it was very possible because of WAMPCO, a big company that helped me to make contacts with the truck drivers, the distributors and so on. So, I was so positively surprised because it was easier than I ever expected.

Are you satisfied with the outcome?

Yes, I am very satisfied with the enormous crowd that showed up and I think that the people appreciated the fact that I showed the project to them. So, it’s a premiere for Lagos and I really wanted it to be so.

Have you done this kind of exhibition somewhere else?

Yes. We have shown the project in Berlin, London, the Netherlands and Belgium. We have also shown it in Switzerland in the preliminary stages, but it was never totally finalized. It was always like some kind of test, but now that it is finalized, I hope to show it in other African countries, European countries and American countries. I would want to show it everywhere because I think it’s a very nice project.
So, who really is Esther Polak
I have been working with the Global Positioning System, (GPS) since 2002 because I am interested in landscape mobility patterns and GPS enables one to record mobility patterns.
What message will you take back home from Nigeria.
I think Nigeria is too big to come back with just one message. Nevertheless, I have enjoyed myself.