Venue address: Brooklands Barn, Priory Lane BN19 0BG
My paintings begin with a narrative or emotional thread rather than a fixed plan. I start with a sense of something I am carrying—an idea, a feeling, or a question—and allow the work to unfold through the act of painting. Through process, revision, and response, forms emerge and meaning gradually reveals itself. Working with acrylics, mixed media, and gold leaf, I build layered surfaces through mark-making, interruption, and accumulation. Earlier decisions remain visible beneath the surface, creating depth and texture that echo the way experiences overlap and shape us over time. Gold leaf is a material I return to repeatedly, drawn to its luminosity, the way it catches and reflects light, and the shifts it creates as the viewer moves around the work. Growing up in Nigeria and travelling across Africa during my childhood left a lasting impression on my visual language. Looking back, traces of those early influences can be seen in recurring symbols, abstracted forms, and figures that continue to surface within the work. The paintings often occupy an in-between space—between chaos and clarity, control and release. Rather than offering a literal narrative, they invite the viewer to respond intuitively and bring their own associations to the surface. At its core, my practice explores what we carry emotionally and psychologically, creating space for reflection, connection, and personal interpretation.
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