BWA MOVEMENT EXHIBITION

Movement exhibition

FIKAYOADEBAJO

Fikayo is a 22 year old Nigerian photographer and visual artist based in London. She studied Sociology at the London School of Economics which grounded her work in the traditions of decoloniality, black feminism and alternative forms of knowledge production. Working across fine art, documentary and editorial, she is influenced by the need to create new visual languages of representation to fully depict the full spectrum of the black experience. Centring joy, intimacy and community, she tells stories that demand existence outside the narrow confines of marginalisations that seek to define, presenting a methodology for finding joy in seeing and being seen, in moving slowly, in being uncertain and in sharing space.

bLAck VENus imagines the birth of forms of representation that celebrate the black female form and centre sensuality, intimacy and community. Softly intimate yet defiant, sculptural yet fluid, grounded in tradition yet positioned towards the future - the complexity of existing within this form are embodied within the series, ultimately highlighting the importance of kinship and solidarity in the process. The statuesque stillness of the pieces ask us to take time for introspection and community in the rapidly moving world around us To move together as one as we immerse ourselves in the exercise of imagining otherwise, and consider where we stand in the drive to an alternative future.

Black Venus I &

MUNAK. AGHAMELU

Muna Kosarachi

Aghamelu is an Artist and Software Engineer from London. Muna creates art with a focus on Portraiture and Figurative painting. Her work is inspired by every day lived experience, history, research and exploring identity. She hopes her art can inspire others to keep prioritising the things that bring them joy, no matter how difficult life may get.

Relating to the theme of movement, Faces of Afr consists of portraits of A Many who had migrated the continent to form th countries and cultures w today. Faces of Africa ca about as a result to my r to #endsars and #africaisbleeding. FOA’s is to encourage diaspora investigate the continen to reflect on their own h Countries represented in piece: Seychelles, Demo Republic of Congo, Suda Cote d’lvoire, Malawi, Tu South Sudan, Gabon, Za Sao Tome and Principe, Uganda, Guinea, Cabo V Cameroon, Mozambique Madagascar and Dijbout

Faces of Africa Part two

Faces of Africa Part one

Following on from FOA

Part 1, Part 2 consists of a further 16 faces representing 16 countries in Africa. The countries represented: Nigeria, Mauritius, Equatorial Guinea, Benin, Burundi, Mauritania, Chad, Eswatini, Tanzania, Central African Republic, Comoros, Egypt, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Angola, and Eritrea.

JOKE AMUSAN

Joke Amusan is a German born Nigerian artist living in England, and her art practice highlights the experiences and complex beauty of what it means to be a Black woman. Joke’s art pieces are conversational, encouraging women to come together to share their stories and to embrace who they are unapologetically. She is an Art & English Literature graduate, and the voice behind She Stands Firm, a Women of Colour empowerment platform which strives to champion the voices of underrepresented women. She strives to create a safe space. Her work has been exhibited in the UK, USA, and Switzerland.

When One Woman Advances, We All Advance

Women have come a long way. As we advance in life, let’s acknowledge the women who came before us and have gone against all odds to lay the very foundations we walk on today, because it can encourage us to do the same So, as we walk on these foundations, we need to remember that there’s still so much to be done These great women of the past didn’t overcome every hurdle in their way and break through ceilings just for us to let things stay the way that they are. We have to keep building, encouraging, and empowering the women around us. There’s a constant thought that there isn’t enough space for everyone and that we must therefore compete against each other to be on top. In reality, there’s more than enough room for us all. We’re all individual people with different skills and ideas, and we each bring something unique to the table. Let’s celebrate every achievement no matter how small, because collectively it produces the change we need to see in this world. When one of us advances, we all advance.

DAVINIA CLARKE

Davinia Clarke is an illustrator and visual artist with a strong culture practice and interest in ethnography which means the study of people. Her practice revolves around themes of identity and family that are influenced by her Jamaican heritage whilst being Black British. Mainly, working digital with elements of mixmedia to capture the essence of the world around her in a vibrant way.

Bonding Moment

situations into

intimate scenes of family and friends. These moments offering a space to share and cherish similar memories and stories within the Black community.

LINDSEY DANIELLA

Lindsey Daniella is a self- taught whose work focuses on figurative

Her work aims to bridge the boun between Eurocentric contempora figurative paintings by presenting portrayal of Afrocentric represen traditional paintings.

She has been working independe professionally for 8 years; her ma of work is oil paint. She found thr years of experimentation that oil an extensive range of colours wh her to encapsulate the rich colour complexity of the black skin tone

Her painting mixes themes of Bla culture, surrealism, mythology an mystic of the female form to crea masterpieces. She expresses that women depicted in her work are the protagonist of their own stori their stories can be interpreted through the background, props and elements such as hair or clothing. She mentions that every detail in her paintings aims to tells an epic story of female-hood. Ultimately she believes her work represents the beauty of divine femininity in a truly diverse manner.

@Lindaniellaart

Asase Yaa relates to the theme of Movement as she is Mother Nature and naturally gives life to everything living around her. Her posture, rising up into the sky creates movement and a feeling of empowerment.

GAYLEEBOSE

Gayle Ebos

works in Lo studied Bro Journalism Nottingham University a years later r postgradua Painting at College of A University o London. Sh exhibited in shows, both physically, i such as the gallery, Cop and many m has a solo exhibition in October 2022.

@Gayle.ebose

The psalm to which the diptych derives its title reflects on the world around it being in desolation, the mountains moving into the heart of the sea, the kingdom's tottering and yet in the middle of the three stanzas there are words on the stillness of the river which God inhabits. It is a reflection on how we as people should be in times of trouble; anchored, calm, serene. These paintings were made through a time of meditating on Psalm 46, particularly during the peak of the pandemic in 2020.

GERTRUDE

Painter, Writer, Believer. Inspired by nature, life and admiring the world through shapes using bold colours. Gertrude is the artist behind Her Hope Studios, “Creating Spaces For Creativity and Changing Perspectives.”

@Herhopestudios

Lets Dance

Kizomba is a dance that has origins in coastal South African nations, mainly Angola, it goes back to ~1890s and had a resurgence in popularity in ~1970s. The music and dance are influenced by Semba but significantly slowed down. It is a sensual dance, melodious rhythm, danced in pairs with one acting as the lead and the other as the follower, roles can be switched depending on the abilities of the dancers and the music. This piece aims to capture the spirit of the dance.

LOUISEHALL

@Louise hall art

As a UK-based multidisciplinary artist that focuses on performance, printmaking and sculpture. To explore conversations on postcolonial ideas around the Black British experience in the UK and the diaspora. Investigating through the materiality of fabric and language to investigate social issues within the UK and the Black experience. Challenging concerns of colonial narrative and history, and the impact within education and many other aspects of society. The use of non violent imagery within the works to represent violent traumatic events with ties to plantations, colonial history and the transatlantic slave trade

13 Dead, Nothing Said’ discusses the New Cross fire, in London in 1981. Remembering the lives lost, calling for justice with the lack of answers. The works reflect on the accumulative trauma and history within the black community.

hall art

SHARON JAMES

Sharon James is a busy mum of 3, twin girls of 6 and her son 7. There are two themes within her paintings, abstraction and autobiographical. Her abstract work is more experimental. With a focus on the correlation between colours, shape and form. She creates compositions with no recognisable visual anchors. Investigating light, opacity and translucency, relishing the incidental colours that occur when colours overlap.

Her experience as a graffiti artist is echoed in my colour palette and how she applies paint. Music is an integral part of her process; each painting has its own soundtrack. She see these paintings as visual dances.

@Sharonjamesartist

Shut up and Dance

Sharon wanted to create an image that spoke of the joy of living. The exuberance of dance. It’s in memory of a friend she recently lost. She was a force of nature always moving forward Pushing boundaries and challenging ideologies. It is a celebration of a life well lived.

CELIA

JOHNSON

Celia Johnson's work draws on current social and political issues around identity. She uses quilting, embroidery and fantastical elements to highlight untold stories of the Black experience that is not being taught in schools. Her pieces speak of the troubles of the past, but also celebrate the resilience, creativity and spirit of Black people.

The Zong

CAROLINE LACOMA

Caroline Lacoma is a selfportrait photographer living in South-East England. The interest of her work is to explore her intersectionality as a Black woman but it also serves as a visual therapy for her to explore the complexity of a human being.

The Sun At Midnight

For "The Sun At Midnight”, I was inspired by the layering of movement and of stillness of the Black silhouette especially in the "dark". It ultimately echoes to the movements and workings of the mind.

@Caroline lcm

KENYAH JOSIAH

Kenya Josiah is a figurative artis that uses acrylic paint. Kenya’s work is rooted in exploring the diversity of Black womanhood and the beauty in narratives tha have been overlooked by society. The Black women in her artwork mirror figures in her community and signify women's empowerment and self-love. Through her work, she explores dance, movement, joy and human connection experienced in daily life. Kenya's work depict the rich colours of the Caribbean reflecting her Jamaican and Guyanese heritage. She is hugely influenced by handmade textiles happy plants, Latin American naive art, Ashanti masks and Ndebele dolls. She intends for each painting to be a celebration of culture.

@Kenyajosiah

Mokala Market

This painting is inspired by the vibrant and bustling atmosphere of Makola Market, the largest market in Accra, Ghana. The piece depicts the market goers and vendors moving around the market as they do their shopping or try to grab a sale. The women in the painting display movement through actions of carrying fish and produce, making transactions, walking, and talking amongst themselves.

LAUREN-LOÏS

Lauren-Loïs is an artist and writer with architectural training operating within the extents of creative design, art and various crafts. Lauren Loïs’ previous experience in Textiles & Design, Fine Art and Literature continue to influence her practice by drawing from various forms of design. She values the multi-disciplinary possibilities of architecture, and aims to explore how art, architecture and craft can intersect to be used to engage communities through spatial design, and enact positive social change.

La Coupe

Lauren-Loïs’ work aims to remain an ongoing series of self reflection and archiving of thoughts and feelings captured through visual art forms and writing Lauren-Loïs is passionate about all forms of self expression and believes in exploring a range of mediums to communicate her thoughts and feelings in the moment Her visual work and writing go hand in hand to tell the stories centred on love and identity.

ANTONIATABI

Antonia Tabi

creates fine art and digital art. Her work is inspired by a range of different influences, from, pop culture to African culture, nature, music, and fantasy. She aspires to advance her creativity, as she shares her work with others.

Dragon Tea

This piece represents movement by illustrating the transfer of energy and temperature between the woman and the dragon, as the dragon (which is made from her headwrap and hair) heats her teapot. The image represents the constant cyclical movement of energy within nature even in stillness. This version was inspired by the Arizona green tea bottle design, and it represents a spring version.

NICOLA AMY-THOMAS

Nicola Amy Thomas has a broad experience in working in industries from Advance Automotive Textile surface design to Fast Fashion.

She is passionate about art that tells a story or highlights an important subject matter such as mental health, having struggled with it herself. She uses her artistic practice as a form of healing and expression of pain.

Outside of her creative practice, she loves fitness, dance and wellbeing, and she shares her second love by fitness instructing part-time.

Anxiety

The “Anxiety” this is a digital manipulation of initial photography portraying the idea of the anxious mind, in this piece I am depicting movement by showing how the mind anxious process' information with a distorted portrait picture that look like tears/water moving in various direction printed on to a silk impression Nicola Amy Thomas

CALIANA BECKFORD-PUSEY

Caliana is a 14 year old artist from South London who focuses social and political issues in her pieces. She likes to create very thought provoking works that can be open the minds of her audience and make them question what’s going on it the world. Working with tonal colour palettes

Stained Glass

Caliana piece is a response to Chris Kaba’s tragic death in Streatham. Juxtaposing the gun hand gesture with the religious stained glass window. She focused on creating different shades of red for the glass to represent blood shed by the black community in South London. And used a range of skin tones to represent people of colour. She hopes that this piece makes the audience do a double take and realise it’s intentions. How many more young black boys have to die at the hands of the police?

JAIDAHWHITE

Jaidah is a 15 year old artist from South London who focuses on pouring emotion into her pieces. She likes to create very abstract works that can be open to interpretation. Working with tonal and complimentary colour palettes on coloured card. Jaidah describes her piece as looking at the physical side of movement, exploring emotion through acrylic paint. She states that each piece was unplanned and used a mixture of water marbling, acrylic pour and splatter methods. She hopes that her audience can feel a sense of the emotions behind these pieces as they physically move and change then finally become fixed in time.

Dancing

LOUISA MCNALLY

South London based

artist, Louisa McNally graduated with a degree in fashion design from London College of Fashion, over the last 4 years she has been perfecting her jewellerymaking skills with crystals and started creating bespoke resin homeware in the 2020 lockdown. Louisa has been creating art from a young age and has never stopped painting. Using it as her therapy where she pays in time, practice and passion to escape reality.

SHXT STORM

This piece relates to movement in the physical sense as you can see the direction the acrylic has shifted and dripped down the canvas as well as what I was going through when I created this painting. I was angry, depressed and had been forced out of a job I once enjoyed, I decided to quit. Everything got too much and my mental and physically health were a mess but I decided to shift my focus back to what I love my art, my resin, my jewellery and my children and move on to the next chapter of my life. This piece is me feeling everything throwing it down in colour and paint and getting on with life.

Movementexhibition