CLU’s Kwan Fong Gallery of Art and Culture is featuring an exhibit titled “Paradoxical” by Professor Gretchen Beck through Sunday, March 2. The work was inspired by the Fulani people of Niger in West Africa. Beck is director of the Art Department at Concordia University in Irvine.

“Paradoxical” includes images inspired by the Nigerien environment in West Africa. The exhibit focuses on the Fulani people, examining the role of art within their culture and how images provoke our imaginations when considering the challenges of the Nigerien people.

After graduation from college in 1992, Beck served three years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Niger, a land–locked country located in the Sahel desert. Presently, much of the Sahel suffers from severe deforestation, which makes it difficult for the population to produce enough food to survive.