When did the issue of climate change become personal for you?

Lilian: The climate change issue hit home for me and became personal when I saw what was left of my village stream , coupled with the increase in intense heat caused mainly by depletion of shades due to felling of trees.

Nostalgia has a strong presence in your story. Could this sense of nostalgia be of loss or hope?

Lilian: The nostalgia I felt in my story was actually that of a loss , and not just of the stream but also of culture and tradition.

What inspired your story for The Green We Left Behind nonfiction anthology?

Lilian: My inspiration was drawn from our current realities. The unpredictable weather conditions, heat and near drought .

As an artist how are you able to merge beauty in language with such a dire theme on climate change?

Lilian: As an artist , I see most things as metaphorical. I deliberately weaved the language I used as though I was working on canvas. Using climate change, I painted a metaphor of all we have lost in nature, culture, lifestyle, humanity and the dire consequences of our recklessness with our environment.

As you release your story to the world, what is your wish or hope for the story?

Lilian: I pray my story draws more attention to the emergency that is climate change and cause us all to become advocates of creating a beautiful, safe, clean and healthy planet earth to bequeath on those coming after us.

Apart from writing, how else do you intend to contribute towards the curbing of global warming?

Lilian: In the past, I have created a series (three works) on climate change and its devastation on our earth. I plan to continue to draw more attention to this issue and initiate conversations through art and video to get us all talking and realize the urgency to act now.

Biography

Lilian Chizoba Pilaku is a graduate of the southwest university Chongqing China, University of Abuja, and the University of Nigeria Nsukka, where she obtained a masters degree in Art, postgraduate diploma in administration ,and a bachelor’s degree in Art respectively. Lilian engages her energy in Painting and video art. She also works as a resident artist, curator at the National Gallery of Art, Nigeria. She has exhibited her works within and outside Nigeria, and her works adorn public spaces and private homes.