An invitation into my world.
Artist statement:
As an immigrant, I’ve learned that many of our stories are narrated from a bystander perspective. Only a few of our stories are actually told by people of our community. I’ve always seen us immigrants like leather because it lasts longer, and it’s a metaphorical window through which I admire the endurance, perseverance, and adaptation of immigrants.
As a model, performance artist and director, and nomad, my art sheds light on Black stories and is an extension of who I am and where I come from, so I use it to document, celebrate and uplift Black people. It is a medium through which I experience the most freedom and avenue to see the world. My art is also an expression of my gratitude and servitude to the world - I love lending myself to new thoughts and ideas and celebrating the liberty within me and beyond. My modeling work is infused with movement and dance, and at the onset of my career, my projects were heavily influenced by collaborators. We used many colors and played with lines and symmetry in the composition, and we worked mainly with a digital camera. My work is slowly shifting into film photography, which nonetheless captures the truth with many patterns, angles, and symmetry.
As a movement director, my work is influenced by dance, and I use it to tell the tales of my migration from Nigeria to the United States with my family. In my work, the movement I convey represents my life journey - the many years of adaption, assimilation, and the pursuit of happiness and greener pastures.
My life and artistic journey today lies here: I’ve longed to understand the urge for movement that exists within me. I think it’s me coming to terms with the fact that the derivative of a constant is 0. I am learning to familiarize myself with the discomfort of leaving my comfort zones to plant more seeds around the world, graze new horizons, understand different nuances, eat new foods and immerse myself in new cultures.