Artist Biography
I was born in Nigeria, educated in England, and am a mostly self-taught Surrey artist with a love of the countryside being the strongest influence on my work. I focus primarily on semi-representational landscapes and vibrant abstracts. I also use these to develop an ongoing visual autobiography, examining sense of identity through the conflict of British education and my denied Nigerian heritage. To accept one’s past, one’s history, is not the same thing as drowning in it. Through my art, I am learning how to use it. I work mainly in acrylics and inks and many of my pieces are enhanced through the application of a resin coating. Despite breaking on to the art scene three years ago I have had considerable success: awarded Runner Up in the 2021 Surrey Artist of the Year competition; was a selected artist for an exhibition of works inspired by the Surrey landscape at the notable Watts Gallery, Guildford. I was awarded The Euan Millar Abstract Prize and The Susan Angoy Prize in The Holly Bush Emerging Artists Awards 2022. In 2023 my work featured in the Windrush celebration: Roots, Culture, Identity at Trades Union Congress, at the Holding Space exhibition at Hauser & Wirth and at two private exhibitions celebrating Black History Month: Black British Art Team and Movements that Matter.
There is a comprehensive introduction to me and my work in an interview on the behindtheartist website.
Artist Statement
My work is a product of an intensely independent style, which flows free of convention, and which defies easy categorisation. My approach has always been intuitive; change is at the core of an ongoing dialogue with myself. To progress, I have to trust the process. The “Shadow of Friendship” is a prime example of the evolution. Here, the tonal gradation of the dominant green palette and textured layers – the rough and the smooth – drift and shift as the amorphous figures emerge, unbidden. The shadowed side is disturbing but like her process, it must be embraced.
As the marks evolve into shapes and forms, I begin responding in layers of colour and texture and adapt the composition. Through the application of layered paint, it is what I choose to add and remove that leaves a history on the canvas of conscious decisions. The choices are slowly built over time from memories, interactions, and conversation with myself regarding where I am, where I’ve been and where I choose to go.
My exploration of my own liminal spaces of transition are slippery and often locationally ambiguous. I often use nature as the connection with my Nigerian past; for once we lose that connection, our perception of the world becomes unbalanced. I often tease out symbols of decay and loss, avoiding trappings of nostalgia by envisioning avenues out of displacement. The result is a restorative narrative to navigate feelings and thoughts about the complexity and enduring vulnerability in my life.
